The Courage in the Coming
by ReginaPhalange1
Summary: Between episodes S06E22 and S06E23. Right after VNM's death Booth and Brennan go undercover in a prostitution ring to catch a killer but discover the real challenge is overcoming the wall between them. Rated M for language, violence and B&B smut.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Author's Note: **

**This story is for all Bones fans that needed more from our beloved B&B between the events of "The Hole in the Heart" and "The Change in the Game" during season 6 of Bones. I'm happy for our couple, but really – it took six seasons so we deserve more about when they actually got together! Sheesh.**

**This is how I move Booth and Brennan from the seriousness of VNM's death and into the new realm of coupledom and pregnancy. For the sake of the timeline I've crammed this story in between in the hopes that it *relatively* works into the timeline of the show. That being said, TBTB said that a month passed between VNM's death and the pregnancy. Well, were going greater than a month instead of less than a month for the purposes of this story. My best friend's baby was seventeen days late, so Ms. Montenegro won't mind too much if I tack on a mere extra week or so… I hope. **

**I promise a very M-rated story and to update frequently through the summer. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or its characters. You have no idea how much I wish I did. **

It was the first time Special Agent Seeley Booth looked at his partner like she had literally lost her mind. Her suggestion – something he couldn't even comprehend – had him giving her a look like her head had just separated from her neck and shoulders. They had argued many times before, but never before had a suggestion so asinine come out of her mouth and never before had he come so close to literally losing it in front of her. "No way in hell," he ground out, he hands firmly planted on his narrow hips and his brown eyes glittering dangerously.

As usual, Dr. Temperance Brennan seemed unphased by his intimidating presence, even though he was doing his best towering and intimidating stance. "I see nothing wrong with the suggestion, Booth," she countered. "The best way to investigate this case is to go undercover. We've done it before and it makes the most sense."

"It makes no sense!" Booth thundered. "You're talking about going undercover as a – a," he stammered as if not able to connect Brennan to the thought, "a hooker in a dangerous prostitution ring!"

Her brow furrowed delicately as she tried to understand his aversion to the concept. "Yes. Since our victim was a prostitute and since we've already connected her to this particular ring operating in Maryland, it makes sense to infiltrate the community to study their particular culture so it will help us ascertain which customer may have killed her, since we know based on the height of the blows that the perpetrator was most likely male."

Booth rounded her desk, moving in closer to her and keeping his hands fisted. "This isn't a damn anthropological study of prostitution, Bones – this is a matter of life and death!"

A roll of her bright blue eyes was his first answer. "Of course I know that, Booth. While this would afford me the opportunity to view and participate firsthand in this particular society and the millennia-old experience of trading sexual favors for revenue, I know that this would not be the priority of our mission. We have to find out who killed her."

"Got it wrong again, Bones – you are not participating."

She crossed her arms against her chest, her breasts coming up a bit as her chin did as well: her irritation was starting to show. "Your refusal is a pointless show of alpha male aggression and has no actual merit, Booth. You and I both know that me going undercover is the only way we can get progress in this case."

"I'm not putting your life in danger."

Somewhere deep inside, Brennan felt a chill go down her spine at the protectiveness Booth was demonstrating. After so many months of him knowing how she felt about him but essentially doing nothing, any hint she received of his feelings for her made her heart seem to beat a little stronger and adrenaline course through her. He was so extremely attractive when he was angry like this that instead of feeling intimidated, she recognized how painfully aroused he made her. Damn him, she thought tiredly. Damn him for making her want him so badly and leaving her alone night after night. Damn him for keeping his heart from her.

"This isn't your decision, Booth," she reminded him, her voice more quiet and calm, even as she took a few steps back from him. Her hip bumped her desk.

"Vincent just died, Bones," he reminded her. "Yesterday we put his casket in the back of a hearse. Two nights ago you were so upset you came into my room in tears – we shouldn't be working. We should be taking a few days off to…" He wanted to say 'to figure things out'. After lying in bed with her in his arms he hadn't been able to think of anything else. "…grieve." He finished lamely.

Brennan rolled her eyes, even as she felt a blush creep into her cheeks at the memory of what had transpired between the two of them two short nights ago. He had been there for her when she needed him, as he always was, but it had felt different. As he held her, she had been so overcome by her feelings for him she had shocked him by kissing him. He hadn't hesitated before flipping her on her back and returning the kiss, but all too soon he'd broken it off.

-X-

"_I can't, Bones," he'd said, moving away quickly from her, his voice strangled. _

_She'd felt the absence of his body heat as acutely as his rejection. "Why?" she'd implored, her eyes wide and her lips swollen from his kiss. No! was all she could think as he moved farther away from her – again. Always he was leaving her alone… aching…wanting. Looking up and seeing the panic and pain in his eyes suddenly filled her with doubt. After rejecting him all that time ago, had his desire for her disappeared? It hadn't seemed so a few moments ago…_

"_You're sad," he said quickly, his dark eyes darting away from her. He looked as if he wanted to be anywhere in the world but by the bedside right now. She stared back at him with wide eyes, waiting on his words of explanation. "We both are," he rushed. "You need a- a friend right now, not a complication." He pursed his lips. "It needs to be just you and me."_

"_You and I are the only ones here, Booth," she said simply, not following his reasoning. "Why not?"_

_He looked away from her, knowing he wasn't explaining it well but desperate to control the desire coursing through him. It had been a bad idea to hold her. And to let her wear his sweatshirt. And to lie down with her. With every fiber of his being he wanted this woman sitting before him, looking hurt and confused: he needed it to be more than this, though. He didn't want to wake up tomorrow and find her gone, or worse – have any regrets between them afterwards: if he and Bones made love there would be no going back for him. He wanted her forever and he needed to know they would be together. But how could he ask that of her, especially after the events of the past day or two? After hearing her say in that damn elevator that she didn't see them as a couple in the future? She was looking for comfort in entirely the wrong way. "Please understand, Bones: you deserve better," he muttered finally. "I don't want to take advantage of the situation. It wouldn't be about us, it would be about Vincent. I can't do that to you - to us."_

_Before she could argue his logic he turned and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving her stunned and rejected. Would there ever be a real moment between them? she had wondered sadly as her eyes stayed fixed on the closed door. Would she ever know firsthand the concept of making love as Booth had described all those years ago? Would they ever have a chance together? Moments later, she heard the shower start. Lowering her head to the bed she pulled a blanket between her legs in a vain effort to control the arousal she'd felt only moments before as tears rolled down her cheeks._

_Sometime later she lost the will to stay awake. She never heard him come back into the room, but when she woke the next morning she'd found herself wrapped in his arms .For a moment, she had relished the feeling of his strong arms surrounding her and the smell of him against her cheek: but it was all an illusion. They weren't a couple. He wouldn't let her in. Still hurting from the night before, she disentangled herself from him and made her way from the room as silently as possible, wanting to disappear before she was forced to face him. She was almost at his front door when a voice stopped her._

"_Going somewhere?" she heard from the bedroom. His voice in the morning was gravely and sexy as hell. Why oh why hadn't he given into her last night?_

_She stopped in her tracks only feet from the door, her belongings in her arms. Brennan's chin came up a bit as she turned to face her partner. He was already on his feet, watching her. "I'm going to work. You should too: we have to catch Broadsky."_

"_Bones," he began, leaning against the doorframe and looking dangerously sexy with his jaw unshaven and slightly disheveled._

"_It's alright, Booth," she interjected, not wanting to hear what he was going to say. "I have given your reasoning some thought and I've concluded you were right to halt the progression of our… intimacy… last night .I was clearly distraught and it would not have been the time to," God, why couldn't she verbalize her thoughts? she lamented silently, "make progress in other aspects of our partnership." She didn't necessarily mean what she was saying – she was still hurting from having him pull away from him, but part of her did indeed understand his reasoning. _

_His brown eyes studied her carefully, weighing her words but not making any attempt to move closer to her. More than anything he wanted to go to her and gather her in his arms and show her just how much he wanted to progress their relationship: but now wasn't the time. He could see the embarrassment of his rejection lingering on her face -it made him feel like crap. "I couldn't take advantage of you last night Bones, I'm sorry .I care about you too much to ever have you wonder that. I need you to know, though: we will progress," he said with quiet resolve. "I absolutely want to be with you. I want to be more than partners."_

_Hearing him say that allowed hope to creep up inside of her. She paused for a moment before she responded, "I would like that too, Booth."_

"_Maybe after we catch Broadsky we could take a few days… talk…"_

_It wasn't very often she saw Booth uncomfortable talking to her. It was almost as if he wanted to say more but was refraining from doing so. "That sounds like an acceptable possibility," she offered."After Broadsky."_

_He nodded in agreement, looking relieved. "After Broadsky."_

-X-

That's where they had left it, Brennan recalled. He'd let her go that morning, but she had been grateful to know that they were moving closer to each other than they had been before. When she'd learned he was unharmed and Broadsky had been captured, she had never been so happy to hear he was safe. But here he was today, trying to make her life difficult again by denying the most logical course of action… the man was arousing and infuriating all at the same time. "Turning grief into work is a much better use of our time," she rationalized. "It wasn't my fault they brought a body in early this morning and needed my considerable expertise to identify her and solve her murder. It's what we do, Booth. We have to do this. I can go above you at the FBI and since I am the leading anthropologist in the world and an extremely successful author, I can make this happen."

A small, dangerous smile slid across his face. She knew he thought she had him. "Go right ahead, Bones. Let's see how well Andrew takes it when he hears the woman he tried to seduce last year wants to parade around in next to nothing for all the weirdos of the world to bid on like a piece of cattle." Booth couldn't help it - his eyes flicked down to her body, hidden beneath the blue lab coat but nonetheless intoxicating. He replaced it with a fabulous mental image of a much less clothed Bones he had been working on for over 6 years.

She smiled insincerely back. "Oh, I was thinking of going straight to the FBI Director and bypassing Andrew directly, although since I effectively dumped him – as Angela would say – I doubt he would argue much anyway since I ended all potential for sexual intercourse between the two of us."

Booth's smile fell as his eyes narrowed. "The answer's no, Bones." He shook his head. "There's no way for me to protect you; no way for me to keep you from actually being-" his jaw clenched, "- sold to someone. It's too risky."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take, Booth." One tentative step forward had them both face to face behind her desk, with only the chair separating them. "There's a person out there," she gestured to the platform. "A twenty-eight year old woman named Maggie O'Malley, and renamed Siren is sitting out there on my examination table. She went missing from foster care at fifteen years old. She had nowhere to go, no family left and ended up a prostitute. No one's coming for her body, Booth," Brennan's voice broke with emotion that came out of nowhere, "I'm going to find out who did this to her."

Booth's broad shoulders slumped and Brennan knew she had just gotten her way in this pretty vigorous fight they had just engaged in. If Booth was this passionate in arguing a point, imagine how vigorous he would be in- "Suppose we do it your way," he muttered, interrupting the very inappropriate path her thoughts were beginning to travel. What was wrong with her today? Sure it had been awhile since she'd had sex, but really... "Suppose I go along with this: if you went undercover you would do things my way and I would find a way to go under with you. I'm coming with you one way or another. Agreed?"

It didn't sound like he was asking for her approval, nonetheless she nodded. "Alright."

"Maggie does deserve retribution, but I am still absolutely unwilling to put you alone into any situation where I couldn't immediately kill any sonofabitch who would dare touch you. Are we understood?"

While she normally would have pointed out that she had extensive martial arts training and had no problem defending herself, she still decided not to provoke him into changing his mind. The irrational part of her knew she would feel more secure having him nearby to back her up. Besides, she absolutely had no intention of following through with any sale of her 'services'. There had only been one man she had wanted for a very long time and he was standing in front of her with a concerned expression and an admiral concept of justice. Tentatively, she reached out and put her hand on top of Booth's arm. Immediately, she felt him react at the contact. "It's just another case, Booth. I'll be fine. I'm far more fortunate than Maggie: I'll have you with me."

His wary, resigned brown eyes met hers. Something felt different about this case, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. It scared the shit out of him. "Yes. Yes, I'll be with you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

**A big thanks to all of those who've put this story on alert: I promise to update frequently so as to not keep you all in suspense too long. If I could, I'd like to shamelessly beg for reviews, too: I love, love, love hearing what you guys think and knowing if I'm doing alright. Thanks again – let's get to it, shall we?**

**Chapter 2**

It was only one day later when Booth stopped his SUV a mile from the Pleasant Gardens hotel, the location that served as a front for the prostitution ring run by Geraldine Junker (aka Madam Geraldine). The Bureau had their eye on this place for awhile, but without definitive evidence they hadn't been able to prosecute. Maggie's unfortunate murder just four miles from this location was the chance they could have to finally nail this ring in court. They were going to make people pay.

Beside him, Brennan fidgeted nervously in her seat. She hadn't looked him in the eye since he had picked her up that morning and they had ridden most of the way in silence. Dressed in jeans and a tight t-shirt, her hair pulled up in a ponytail with little make up on, she looked young and vulnerable and he felt like the biggest asshole in the world for letting her be in this position. "It isn't too late to change your mind, Bones," he said quietly, desperately wishing she'd ask him to take her back home.

Instead, he got a look that could have shot daggers. "I'm not afraid. I'm going to do this," she snapped.

Tiredly, Booth ran his hand over his face. These last few days had worn him down and now, he was right back in the middle of a case and fretting over his partner's safety. "Well, I'm afraid for you, Bones. I don't want anything to happen to you."

He saw her delectably pink mouth close from what she had been about to say as she studied him carefully. "I promise I will be careful, Booth." She looked towards the back of the SUV. "Is my bag in the trunk?"

"It's in the backseat," he muttered, his mind immediately flashing to the contents of the bag. He had given Bones' measurements to one of his FBI team to pick up lingerie for her to wear, knowing full well that he was entirely incapable of such a task without marching over to her place and either going full-Neanderthal and keeping her locked up in her apartment or fucking her in one of those scraps of clothing like a man possessed. Neither had been an option if he wanted to look her in the eye ever again, so here they sat.

Behind them, a second SUV pulled up. "That's Trey," Booth explained. "He's the team member I told you about last night that will be acting as your pimp, trying to turn you over to Geraldine. You won't be allowed to have a cell phone, but he does. Nonetheless, if something happens to him or you feel you're in any danger, there's a small wooden bridge over a dried up creek bed exactly a quarter of a mile directly east of here. If anything – and I mean anything – goes wrong or you need to get out, you head there and find it. Understood?" When she nodded, he forced himself to continue, "If she says she doesn't want you as one of her girls, you and Trey will go to the bridge and meet me there."

Her graceful brows furrowed. "Why wouldn't she want me?" she asked, puzzled. "I realize I may be older than some of the women there but men often appreciate women of substance and experience. Since I have both, and I'm extremely beautiful, it would only be natural Geraldine would hire me."

"That's true, Bones. It's just in case, okay? You can find me there anytime today and I will be at the _showing_," he said the word through gritted teeth, " tonight. Trey's also going to find an excuse to stay around."

"You can't look FBI," she warned, eyeing him. Her eyes lingered a moment too long on his perfect pectoral muscles perfectly defined even while sitting.

"For God's sake, Bones: I'm not going to show up in a suit and tie with my holster and gun!" Booth exclaimed in exasperation. "I'm going to look the part. But more importantly than that, I'm going to be the one who… buys you tonight." He had trouble saying the word, but he had no trouble saying the next part; "You're going to a room with me and nobody else, are we understood?"

Brennan's cheeks flushed. "Yes."

"Whatever you learn from the other girls, anything you observe in their customers, you just tell me then, okay? Never break character, and remember you're used to be subservient and not strong-willed. Aim for more of a Belle Watling than Scarlett O'Hara."

A puzzled expression fell across her features. "I don't know what that means."

"Never mind," he muttered, forgetting who he was talking to for a moment. "When you leave here, you're Mystique aka Roxie Thompson from Missouri and your pimp off load you to Geraldine because he's replacing you. Got it?"

"No one would replace me."

He couldn't argue with her there. Every tortured night since his diabolically botched proposal to Hannah had him thinking that very thought: no one could ever be more than Bones was to him. It was a hard thing to admit to himself – and it had taken awhile after Hannah left – but in the end, it was his reality. She was the center of his life. Every morning when he woke up, she was the first thought in his mind and every day ended with serious NC-17 fantasies which starred Temperance Brennan. He just didn't know if his heart was ready to try again. "It's just the story we're going with," he told her. Without thinking, he placed his large hand on top of hers, causing her head to turn from looking out the window to fixing on his face. "It's really admirable you're taking this risk, Bones. It takes a shitload of courage to come here and try to find the killer," he started. "But no justice is worth your life, okay?"

Slowly, she nodded. "Okay."

Satisfied for the moment, he sighed. "Come on: Trey's here."

Exiting the car, Brennan turned to see a nice looking African American man about her age. He was wearing ridiculous pants that were too big, a baseball cap, a t-shirt and several gold chains around his neck. He had an enormous smile on his face which stood out because of the gold caps on two teeth, which Brennan was sure were part of the costume. She liked his smile. "Agent Capra," Booth said, extending his hand.

The man took it and shook. "Agent Booth."

"I don't believe you've met my partner before," Booth said, indicating with his hand for Brennan to come forward. She did so and shook the other agent's hand. "This here is Dr. Temperance Brennan. Bones, Trey. He's been on my team for the past 2 months. He transferred in from the New York Bureau and has a background in counterterrorism."

"Pleased to meet you," she said, returning the agent's smile and deciding that she liked how personable he seemed. He reminded her of Booth that way. He was also extremely handsome and if she was still looking for compatible sexual partners, he would have certainly been a possibility.

"Likewise, Dr. Brennan.," Trey returned. "Booth doesn't stop talking about you at work. It's always ' Bones this, Bones that'. He makes it seem like there isn't anything you don't know."

Booth opened his mouth but before he could defend himself from the accusations of fawning over his partner, Brennan said; "While Booth is correct that I am a genius and my knowledge is therefore far more extensive than the average person, it's incorrect to assume I know everything there is in the universe."

"Alright already," Booth muttered, peeved at Capra for his big mouth. "You know the mission, Capra?"

"Yes sir," he replied, becoming serious. "I was briefed early this morning and I know the basics of who we're here to find and what we've come to do."

"Your primary mission is to keep her safe," Booth said; his hands on his hips as he resisted the urge to restlessly pace or grab Capra by the collar and shake him into promising upon pain of death he would keep her safe. "Then solve the case. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"No customer will actually go near here. Nothing happens to Dr. Brennan. Nothing. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Sensing Booth was teetering on the edge of losing his control of reason and literally ready to pick her up to throw her back in the car, Brennan spoke up; "Cam called me this morning, so we have confirmed that we're looking for a man between 6'2" and 6'4" with very dark hair and a muscular build. We have DNA now so we can do a comparison if we find a suspect which should increase the likelihood of finding the killer more quickly. I also discovered last night that the attacker was left-handed, based on the blows our victim sustained."

Her response was a nod from Booth. "Like I said, let me know if you find any suspects when I see you later tonight." When she didn't respond right away, he added, "I will see you tonight, Bones – okay?"

"Okay." She responded, turning her head to look in the direction of the hotel.

She was becoming quiet. Jabbing at the dirt with his foot and looking down as Trey grabbed the bag he'd dropped, Booth forced himself to say, "You'd better get going, Bones."

Trey watched with fascination as the two partner's eyes met: something was going on between these two that went past the parameters of the mission. They had a history, but while his life was on the line like Dr. Brennan's, Trey knew that he didn't just have a murderer to worry about – if anything happened to Dr. Brennan Agent Booth would be coming to find him and it wouldn't be pretty. He sure as hell couldn't afford to fuck up this assignment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was an enormous effort, Brennan reflected, to suppress her knowledge of her own self-worth and stand aside and let a man pawn her off to someone as if she were an animal. After twenty minutes of negotiation, Trey managed to sell her off as a new asset to Madame Geraldine, a large, overweight woman who wore too much makeup and clearly had a nicotine addiction. That didn't include the ten minutes Geraldine spoke about the "quality" of her girls and the high prices they gathered. It was after; however, Madame Geraldine came over and ordered her to take her clothes off while she inspected her. She even checked her teeth.

Brennan simultaneously wanted to slap the woman in the face and crawl under the floor and cry: it was a truly horrible experience. All she could think as she stood there was how glad she was to have Trey with her and not Booth: she was certain she could never stand up to this sort of ridicule and inspection if he had been there. She would have been mortified, although part of her wished he knew what a fabulous job she was doing at acting her part.

She answered a few questions that corroborated Trey's story, tried to seem mildly enthused to join Geraldine's harem of whores, talked about the importance of satisfying the customer, several fabricated stories about customer experiences and all the while reminding herself that she was doing this for a woman named Maggie O'Malley.

Finally, Geraldine agreed to give Trey a trial run for her, allowing her to be one of the first girls up for bidding that night – provided he stayed around to take her back if the price stayed below seven hundred and fifty dollars. After all, she ran a quality prostitution ring. As Trey shook her hand Brennan wondered why her cut-off price was only seven hundred and fifty dollars.

The rest of the day was spent in the company of the other women wandering around the basement of the hotel. Then Geraldine showed her up to the top floor, to an extremely small room she'd be given to bring her customer to, clearly giving her the room none of the other women wanted. It sent shivers down her spine and Brennan hoped desperately everything would go according to plan and she could bring Booth back with her to this den of disgust.

For the rest of the day most of the women either offered her sly looks, casual disregard or ignored her completely. One of the women, a beautiful but young Hispanic girl who called herself Rapture was the only one to even smile at her and was kind enough to show her the large room beneath the hotel where the auction took place on Fridays and Saturdays. There was a stage and seating for at least two hundred people, with a bar along the side. She knew it was irrational, but Brennan really, really couldn't wait for Booth to come.

Hours passed by agonizingly slowly until about eight o'clock at night, when she and the rest of the women began getting ready in a room just off the main stage. Sequined thongs, teddies, see-through bras, makeup, hairspray and such began to be pulled out of drawers as each woman took a seat in front of a mirror. Trying to fit in, Brennan found an unoccupied space and opened the contents of the bag Booth's team had prepared for her. She found hairspray, a curling iron, a bag of makeup and something to spray on that was glittery. Suppressing a sigh at the continuing feeling of subjection, her heart started to beat a little faster when she saw the red lace on the bottom of the bag. This was really happening, she thought, beginning to regret her insistence at going undercover on this case. Perhaps Booth had been right – what was she really getting herself into?

-X-

From his peripheral vision Booth saw Trey standing on the opposite side of the packed room. Everywhere he looked guys filled spaces and chairs waiting to waste money on cheap sex. It made him almost ill. Dressed in his t-shirt and jeans, he tried to look casual and – as Bones had pointed out – not FBI as he ordered a drink and took up a standing position near the bar where he could successfully survey the entire room. As the time came closer, the atmosphere in the room became more charged as men were already getting hammered and more talkative. There were some women that came with them, waiting to buy time with Geraldine's girls. Meanwhile, Booth and Trey spent the time mentally cataloging the men they believed fit the description Bones had provided. Booth came up with at least seventeen on his side of the room alone.

The lights went down and Geraldine came out, explaining to the first-time customers how the auction worked. Booth's pulse picked up a bit, knowing that Brennan would be one of the first women up, since she was new. After waiting through a woman in her twenties with enormous breasts and a girl he was fairly certain was under eighteen to be auctioned off, she came to the stage.

It felt like all of the blood in his body jumped right to his cock.

She was mindblowingly stunning: that was the only word for it. Brennan stepped into the light and immediately had all eyes on her in her red, dangerously see-through bra with a sheer fabric floating from the bra over her stomach and matching lace panties, which Booth was silently praying were not a thong. Her hair was curled at he could see some sort of sparkly crap all over her perfect skin. The thing that he really noticed right away, though, was the look on her face and the way she flexed her hands nervously at her side. Her eyes looked down timidly and he saw her anxiously bite her lip, looking self-conscious and upset.

Bones was petrified.

It took every ounce of strength he had to stay exactly where he was and not rush up to the stage, throw his arms around her and drag her off, away from assessing eyes and filthy minds. He had never seen her looking so unsure of herself and that vulnerability stung him. He had to get her out of here as fast as possible.

"This is Mystique, ladies and gentleman," he heard Geraldine say into the microphone. "She's new here and can't wait to show you a great time. Let's induct her into our club with an all-night bid, shall we? Let's open at two hundred."

Finally – he could act. "Five hundred," Booth barked as hands went up to match the two hundred dollar starting price. He saw Brennan's eyes come up and their gazes met for a moment before she looked away. Immediately, men chimed in and the price jumped to eight hundred dollars. Meanwhile, Booth couldn't stop staring at Brennan. Her nipples were showing through the lace of the push up, demi-cupped bra and her beautiful long legs looked like they went on for miles. The look of fear in her eyes sent him over the edge, though. It was time to shut this shit down.

-X-

At the sound of his voice Brennan felt her heart skip a beat. He was here. He had told her he would be and she'd believed it, of course, but nonetheless the uncontrollable joy she felt at the confirmation of his presence in the crowd was palpable. She followed the sound of his voice to his position near the bar, just barely making out his muscular form in the darkness. He looked strong. He sounded confident and… angry. Her eyes moved away.

It took only a few moments later for the price to jump to eight hundred dollars, and then she heard Booth call out confidently, "One thousand dollars."

"Eleven hundred," another voice sounded, this one coming from a few rows in front of where Booth was standing and to his left. This man she saw much better: he had a long face, a square jaw, almost clear grey eyes and slicked back dark hair pulled into a ponytail.

"Twelve hundred," Booth called.

"Thirteen hundred," ponytail man returned, as Brennan continued to categorize him. He seemed to fit the profile, she thought. It was hard to tell how tall he was since he was sitting down, but he looked extremely muscular: even more than Booth. In her estimation Booth was perfectly proportioned, but this man looked grossly lumpy. A quick flash of fear entered her mind at the possibility of having this man buy her and try to force her to have sex with her. Booth would never let that happen, though, so she tried to push the thought away.

"Fourteen hundred."

Ponytail man raised his left hand when he called out his new price. "Fifteen hundred."

There were murmurs now amongst the crowd, leading her to believe that fifteen hundred was a highly unusual price to actually pay for one of Geraldine's girls. If nothing else, she tried to gain a tiny bit of confidence at the thought that she could garner such a price as a new girl; it helped to counter-act her embarrassment. She couldn't bring herself to look over at Booth. What was he thinking?

"Two thousand," Booth countered. Brennan took a deep breath – surely that would be enough. It was clear now that she was being tossed between Booth and the ponytail man in a bidding war, with everyone else looking on with fascination.

"Twenty-two hundred." The way ponytail man was staring at her sent chills running through her. Would she ever get off this stage?

Booth stood up straighter and she saw him slam a glass down on the bar, clearly showing annoyance. "Three thousand."

"Thirty-five hundred." Ponytail man shot back. How much money did this man have, anyway? Whistles of amazement were heard and the noise from the crowd picked up.

"This is unprecedented," Geraldine said into the microphone from the side of the stage, her voice conveying her amazement. Brennan assumed that – were she really a prostitute – this would translate into her gaining status among the rest of the women as an object that was clearly worth more than they were. Vaguely, she wondered what some of the perks of that status would be. "Going once…"

"Four thousand," Booth snapped.

"Forty-four hundred."

"Going twice," Geraldine urged. Why was Geraldine trying to cap her price by shoving her into bed with this terrifying man? Desperately, Brennan looked towards Booth.

"Five fucking thousand dollars!" Booth bellowed into the room.

Gasps sounded in the room as Geraldine declared her sold and Brennan released the breath she had been holding for the past several seconds. Booth wouldn't have let that man take her, but it would have blown their cover and their case. Now, they could try to move on and find Maggie's killer. Now, she could bring him with her back to the room.

Booth moved up towards the stage. Men filed aside and stared at him with amazement that he would spend so much money on one whore for one night. "Way to go, pal," she saw one man tell Booth as he was halfway to her, clapping him on the shoulder with his hand. He appeared like he had been drinking heavily. "She looks like she's worth it. Go nail her to the wall."

Even from the stage Brennan could see rage in Booth's dark eyes as he grabbed the intoxicated man by his shirt, hauling him off his feet. Shocked, the man's drink flipped out of his hand and splashed across Booth's t-shirt. She couldn't make out what Booth said to him, but a moment later Booth released him by shoving him backwards towards the bar and continuing onto Geraldine as the next woman – the young girl, Rapture – came onto the stage. Brennan moved to the side, not knowing what to do next. Booth opened his wallet, shoved the money at Geraldine, then came up the three stairs to the side of the stage as men called out at Booth in some sort of brotherly encouragement.

Brennan looked up at him as he stalked towards her, her lips parting slightly. Before she could react, though, an extremely pissed off Booth grabbed her angrily by the arm and jerked her towards the side of the stage and into the hallway that lead back to the rooms. "What?" she squeaked, not knowing what was happening. What had she done to make him so furious?

"Quiet," he ordered, keeping his jaw fixed and his eyes straight ahead as they marched away from the stage. Many of the other women stood near the stage entrance, looking at her in amazement and resentment: their looks confirmed that she was correct about estimating a higher status amongst the women with this high price attached to her – not that it mattered. Their faces flashed by as she was dragged behind Booth.

Booth's hand was actually digging into her upper arm and it was starting to hurt. She was certain she would bruise, so she tried to wiggle out of his grasp as they turned a corner and headed away from the crowd. "Let me go," she protested. What was wrong with Booth? She'd never seen him so dangerous looking.

Blinking hard, he abruptly let go of her, then glanced back over his shoulder. No one was around and he didn't see any cameras mounted on the walls or ceiling, but he didn't want to take any chances. "Take me to your room. Now." When she hesitated, he tried to soften his features to reassure her. "I made an investment, _Mystique_," he emphasized. He was trying to remind her of her undercover role; she could see it now in his eyes. "It's time to come through with your end. Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

**Wow! Thanks to all those who have put this story on alert and especially to those who've posted reviews! I so enjoy reading your thoughts and comments: it motivates my muse!**

**Just a quick FYI, I think the story will go for about 15-20 chapters (although time will tell) and there will be cliffhangers (yep – I'm devious that way) but not a lot of focus on the case (it's just a plot device for what I really want to write – B&B action and drama!). These two have a lot to get to, so let's get on with the story!**

**We're absolutely earning our M rating here on out, so please read responsibly… and enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

Watching her scantily clad form with a hard-on for her he almost couldn't get under control, Booth followed Brennan down the dimly lit hallway on the top floor. He knew he should have lifted his eyes from her perfectly rounded ass shown off to perfection beneath the red lace panties but he couldn't help himself. It was all he could do to remind himself to be a gentleman and a damned respectable partner to her: nothing was going to happen between them. Nothing.

He'd been doing that for six years: he could manage to do it again.

Pausing at a door at the end of the hall, she couldn't turn to look at him. "This is my room," she whispered.

He swallowed over a lump in his throat. "Okay." Together, they entered the room and a sense of claustrophobia immediately overtook Booth. It was a room with a single small bed, very little floor space, a slanted ceiling, a chair in the corner, a dresser and a small bathroom. It looked relatively clean enough, for which he was eternally grateful, but small as hell. He pretended to ignore the satin sheets on the bed and the gauzy curtain crap that hung from the window. "This must have been a broom closet," he muttered, looking around for a light switch. Big mistake: he flipped on the light switch and the room glowed red. Shaking his head at the over-the-top cheapness of it, he turned it back off so only the moonlight came through the window.

"They gave me the smallest room because I'm new." Brennan finally turned towards him and he forced his eyes to snap from her perfect breasts back up to her eyes. Don't look down, don't look down, he silently chanted.

"No worries," he forced a smile. "We're here now and everything's going according to plan."

She nodded, still looking strangely tentative and uncertain: the fact that she was literally wringing her hands was the biggest tell. "I'm sorry I put you in this position and I'm sorry you had to pay so much for me for the entire night. It's just a waste of money since you're not benefitting in any way." She bit her lip. "Thank you for buying me."

Jesus that was something he hated hearing. He took a step closer to her. "Hey, Bones, listen to me." Taking her by her bare shoulders and ignoring how sweetly soft her skin was, he waited until her blue eyes met his. "First, there's absolutely nothing to apologize to me for. I would never ever expect anything from you – especially sex, for Christ's sake - and there's no way in hell money spent for your sake would ever be a waste. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, got it?" She expelled the breath she had been holding and nodded seriously. "Besides," he added, trying desperately to lighten the mood, "Its taxpayer's dollars."

"You're right," she responded slowly, glad to recognize the Booth she'd known for six years and not the man who had dragged her offstage. She wondered why he had been so furious, but refrained from asking. "But, since you paid and this was my idea in the first place, I nonetheless insist you take the bed tonight."

He shook his head. "Thanks but no. We're in a strange-as-hell place and I'm staying awake all night. I'll take the chair."

As she crossed her arms Booth could see her stubbornness was beginning to replace her vulnerability and it made him glad. "No, no, Booth – I insist. You have a history of back problems and that chair would undoubtedly cause you acute pain. I could go into great detail how maintaining a posture in that chair would cause pressure and discomfort in your vertebrae, but I imagine you wouldn't want to hear it."

"Bones, I'm not sleeping in a bed with you in a chair. It isn't going to happen, end of story."

She shook her head. "I disagree." She sighed. "It would be so much easier if you'd just agree with me, Booth. I won our last argument that landed us here; I'm going to win this one too, despite your gallant attempts."

He pursed his lips in frustration. Time to move on, he thought: he didn't want to scare her again like he had apparently done by dragging her offstage. He'd played his cover too well and guilt gnawed at him. "I agreed to this case too, okay? Now, do any of the losers downstairs stick out at you as potential murders of our victim?" he asked, hoping that changing the subject would help him win this disagreement. If nothing else, maybe it would distract her from trying to be a bed-giving martyr.

Instead, the corner of Brennan's mouth lifted in a half smile. With a glint in her eye she tossed her wavy hair and headed over to the chair, setting her beautiful almost bare ass right in the middle of it and crossing her deliciously long legs. "Yes. The man bidding against you for me fit our profile. He had dark hair, a ponytail and earring sitting two rows in front of you to the left. He's weight and most likely the height to fit the profile and I noticed he lifted his left hand to bid. It could be him."

"Could be." Booth muttered, simultaneously perturbed at the memory of the enormously wealthy asshole who had tried to sleep with his partner and Brennan for being so insistent on shooting down his sense of chivalry by taking the chair.

"Otherwise, I didn't see anyone else," she continued. "It was kind of hard to see, though, with the lights shining on me. It's also possible the perpetrator chose not to come to this auction tonight. How about you – did you notice anyone?"

"There were about seventeen I saw that could fit the profile, but the earring guy you mentioned is the one I wanted to check out first," Booth responded, giving up and taking a seat on the bed opposite of her. It was a safe, comfortable distance. He sat back against the headboard and crossed his legs, looking straight ahead at her. "I was able to get a text to Trey . I had him grab a photo of the guy on his phone, so he's going to do some digging tonight to see if he can come up with a name for him."

The fact that he sat down seemed to distract Brennan, because she looked down at his chest. "You should take that off," she said, pointing to his shirt.

It still shocked him how she could switch gears so quickly. His eyes went wide. "What?"

"You should take off your shirt," she repeated casually. "The intoxicated man next to you spilled that liquor all over you and its strong stench is filling this small room. I don't know how you put up with it. Let's put it in the bathroom and close the door."

Booth found himself shaking his head. "No way, Bones." He eyed her warily. "No. My clothes are staying on."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be so puritanically modest, Booth. I have seen you shirtless before. I have seen you naked before. The other night you were on top of me, we were kissing and we still didn't make love. Don't make us both suffer with this putrid smell all night long. Besides," she smirked, "it would make us a little more even, don't you think?"

"It's not gonna happen, Bones."

Curiosity won momentarily as her thoughts kept going back to what it felt like to be kissed by Booth with his body spread out on hers. "What did you say to him – you know, the man who told you to nail me to the wall? I couldn't make it out."

Booth's jaw clenched and she saw the dark, dangerous glint back in his eyes. "I told him he was pathetic and to mind his own fucking business. I told him if he ever talked to either of us I would shove his own foot up his ass."

"Thank you," she said, sitting up a bit straighter and pleased he had stood up for her. It was not logical, but she enjoyed seeing the possessive side of Booth. She leaned forward a bit. "I appreciate your chivalry." Before he could interject, she added, "I'd appreciate it even more if you rid yourself of that foul shirt. The scent is overpowering."

Here they went again: didn't she have any idea how hard he was trying to hold onto his self-control already? Adding more nakedness had 'recipe for disaster' written all over it. "Uh, uh," he said, shaking his head. "It's not my fault you're wearing next to nothing." Don't look down, Booth, he reminded himself for the millionth time since he'd seen her tonight, "but smell or not I'm not going shirtless."

Brennan's eyes went down a bit. "Please, Booth? We both know I'm not going to try to seduce you or vice versa, since we're partners and nothing more for the immediate future, but the smell is foul. I don't want to be stuck here all night in this hard chair with a horrid smell I can't escape from in this awful whorehouse. Please?"

**Author's Note:**

**What do you think, boys and girls? Will Booth do as she asks? What will happen in that room? **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Aw, hell. Booth didn't know why, but his heart fractured a bit when she said they were "nothing more". He hated being reminded of it even though he knew it needed to be that way: at least until they could find a day when they weren't knee deep in a case they were trying to solve and had time to actually figure out what a relationship would mean to the both of them. "Fine," he mumbled, sitting forward and pulling the shirt over his head. He got up and marched into the little bathroom. "But it's not my fault you're in that chair," he reminded her, feeling surly and petulant from his pent-up sexual frustration. From her chair, he didn't see Brennan's smile of satisfaction that she had once again gotten her way.

"Happy now?" he muttered, coming back and resuming his place on the bed. He shoved the cover and bed sheet down by the foot of the bed and crossed his arms over his now-bare chest.

"Thank you," she responded politely, crossing her arms likewise over her barely covered breasts and carefully keeping her eyes from staring at his perfectly formed chest. She shivered, then realized it was because there was a small breeze against her back from a nearby vent, fluttering her thin gauzy material around her stomach which felt like butterfly wings against her: although it could have been the sight of a half-naked Booth. Either way, it gave her the chills.

They talked about the case for a few minutes, went over some of the people they met and the things they had noticed, but after awhile conversation lapsed into comfortable silence. Brennan noticed her fingers and toes begin to grow uncomfortably cold.

"Can I ask you something?" Booth asked, looking at her as the couple on the other side of the wall grew increasingly noisy in their rigorous sexual activity.

"Certainly."

They both were pretending not to hear the sounds of sex. Booth took a breath, not quite sure how to ask what had been nagging him. "Why were you nervous tonight?"

Immediately, he saw her guard go up. She began to rub her arms as they lay crossed against her chest. "What do you mean?" She sat up a bit.

"When you were standing up there," he began, hating that he had to remember the way she'd stood there for men to ogle and bid on, "you seemed so – I don't know – hesitant. Uncertain. Timid. For someone so confident in her sexuality, it just surprised me, I guess." There it was, he thought: it had been bugging him for ages.

Brennan pursed her lips and thought for a moment before she responded. "I experienced a sudden lack of self-confidence."

"Why?" he asked, genuinely baffled. Didn't she know how gorgeous she was? Didn't she know that every man in that place had his eye fixed on her and wished he could've afforded her? Just the thought of all of those men staring at her and imagining sex with her was enough to make him want to shoot/break/kill something. His fists clenched at his side and his jaw fixed rigidly. Bones was his and no one else's.

She rolled her eyes, trying to appear annoyed by the question even though he can tell she was trying to cover up the reasons why. "The spotlight was on me, so I couldn't help but wonder if everyone could see the minor imperfections I notice in the mirror every day."

Booth called it like he saw it: "Bullshit, Bones – you have no minor imperfections." He gestured with his hand to her, where she was curled up in the chair looking increasingly chilled. "I can speak from firsthand knowledge. What's the real reason?"

It was like she was looking for something besides the truth to tell him – he could tell. "I was afraid no one would want me."

Booth shook his head. "Again, I'm not buying it, Bones. You and I both know how stunning you are and how every guy in that place wanted a shot with you. Did you see how fast the bidding climbed?" He decided to take a different tact. Leaning forward, he brought his knees up a little and rested his elbows on top of them. Hands folded, he rested his chin on them and looked her straight in the eye. "You can tell me, Bones," he said softly. "It broke my heart how vulnerable you looked. Please, what made you so uncertain?"

Timid blue eyes came up to meet his, and he was shocked to see tears in them. She swallowed, and then said quietly, "I really was afraid no one would want me," she told him. "Why would they, when my own partner doesn't?"

If an anvil had dropped from the ceiling onto his head he couldn't have been more shocked. His mouth dropped open. "Why in God's name would you think that?"

Brennan shrugged her small bare shoulders. "Why do you think, Booth?" A single tear fell down her cheek as his heart seemed to beat so hard he could almost hear the thudding it made. "You've worked with me for six years. _Six years_, and besides the first case we worked, in all that time you've never made any sexual advances towards me. Not once. Sure, we've talked about having sex, and how potentially explosive we could be together given our stamina and previous sexual prowess, but not once during our partnership have you tried to, I don't know, put the moves on me, as Angela would say. Even when we got close the other night you pulled away from me." Now, her hands came out and began to gesture. "I mean, why don't you want me, Booth?" she said, getting angry. She moved her hands up and down her body as if to show it off. "You wanted a relationship with me last year, but you kissed me to convince me of your point, not because you desired me. What is it about me that turns you off and keeps you from fucking me like I want you to?"

His hard on was back, roaring to life. He loved hearing Bones talk dirty, but he thought it was interesting she noticed the difference of kissing her to convince her and kissing her out of sheer passion. He doubted the Bones he'd met almost seven years ago would have noted that distinction. Nonetheless, he couldn't be any more flabbergasted that she was so unaware of how much he wanted her. So shocked, in fact, that clearly he wasn't able to form a coherent sentence as she continued, "I mean, really, Booth, if someone like you - who knows me and is my friend - doesn't find me sexually desirable enough to act on it and follow through, then my only conclusion is that I must not be outwardly alluring to the opposite sex, at least until I can talk to them and convince them of my wit, intelligence and charm." She bit her lower lip and plunged ahead. "I initiated the kiss the other night. You're the one who pulled away. Tonight I felt exposed in front of you and I couldn't see your reaction to my appearance and, I suppose, part of me was irrationally afraid you wouldn't find me as attractive as Hannah."

And that, he thought, was the heart of the matter and was every bit his fault. How could he have screwed up everything so completely? How the hell could he have let her think that all this time?

It took every ounce of strength in him not to jump to his feet, grab her, pull her against his massive erection and prove just how wrong she was. Booth knew, though, that if he did that there would be no stopping him this time; he wouldn't rest until they had both had the best sex of their lives and multiple orgasms to prove it. But he would be damned before he let their first time together be here in a dirty brothel. Bones absolutely deserved better than that. "Bones," he said gently, hoping she wouldn't take his lack of movement towards her as a rejection, "I can't tell you how entirely wrong you are."

For a moment, she was still. From behind the wall she heard a man grunt out in orgasm. Then, she sniffed lightly. "Am I?"

He lowered his arms towards her but kept his hands firmly clasped together. "Entirely wrong," he confirmed. "I'm your partner, Bones. Your partner," he said slowly. "A long time ago, we talked about a line we wouldn't cross and that was the reason why. I respect you and I felt you deserved a partner who would treat you with that respect. That doesn't mean that I haven't wanted you," he scoffed. "Hell, I've been walking around with _at least_ a half-hard on for the past six years, and I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to grab you, take you… against the wall, on the table in the holding cell, on your desk, couch, the floor.. who the fuck cares?… and make you mine."

When Brennan's eyes came up to meet his, the smoldering fire in his dark eyes left no doubt in her mind he meant it: the desire she saw made her suck in her breath. "Really?"

"Yes, really. There hasn't been one minute I haven't desired you," he continued. "Jesus Christ, Bones, even when I was with Hannah I was reminding myself every two seconds that I was _with Hannah_," he ground out, his jaw clenching. "And I never want to hear you say again that you're worried I don't find you as attractive as her," he shook his head in disbelief he was even having to tell her that which he thought was so apparent; "It kills me you'd even think that. Me pulling away from you the other night wasn't a rejection; I was trying to save our first time together for a time when you weren't sad. When it was about us and it could be special. That's what I still want for us, which is why I'm going to be a gentleman all night long." He waited a heartbeat before adding softly, "You're the most beautiful person in the world to me - in every way."

She didn't answer. He waited but all he saw was the reflection of tears in her eyes and part of him wondered why he hadn't spent part of everyday just telling her how gorgeous she was to him. The other part of him knew the reason why: this was far more than the friendship he'd insisted on after Hannah left. They were starting down a path there was no turning back from, but for the first time, he felt entirely ready and unrushed. This wasn't taking a gamble – this was telling the truth.

"I have six years of fantasies in my arsenal, all starring you and me and a million different ways we would make love and fuck each other's brains out," he plunged ahead, uncertain of her reaction. "And I know I've had no right, but the worst nights of my life were the ones you spent out with guys, like Sully, the deep sea welder or Hacker: I wanted to beat the shit out of each of them, even though I sort of liked Sully."

Booth took a deep breath. "It's the whole package I want, though, Bones. I want the furious fucking and the mind-blowing lovemaking, the waking up with you in the morning, the shared lunches and laughter every day and everything in between. That's the gamble I wanted to take with you the night you shot me down. I can't ask for anything less than that, you see?" He shook his head, almost as if disbelieving they were actually – finally – having this conversation. He tried to ignore the way his throat welled up with emotion at the thought of the dream he wanted so badly for both of them. "It could never be just sex for me. I need you in my life every day in every way. So, I haven't 'put the moves on you' as you said, because I want more. I want it all and I want it _permanently_. I'm in this for forever, Bones, until we're nothing left but dust and ash and the stars fall from the sky." He paused, staring into those wide blue eyes as he decided to hand the reins of their relationship over to her. None of this meant anything if she wasn't the one to move them forward. "More importantly than that, though, I want you to be ready for it. For me. For us."

A single tear fell down her cheek, but he was relieved to see the small smile on her face and the clarity reflected in her bright blue eyes. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a huge precipice, more nervous than he had ever been during the war. "Okay," she said softly.

What the fuck did that mean? "Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay," she repeated, then added in a small voice, "Thank you for clarifying that with me. I am… grateful to know how you feel. And… I am pleased to know you find me appealing." He could tell she was processing everything he'd just told her, but he couldn't blame her: even he was surprised at all of the words that had come tumbling out of his mouth. Nothing like overwhelming her with the truth he'd been trying so hard to suppress even to himself. He was extremely grateful she wasn't saying anything about not being ready, not wanting a monogamous relationship, not being able to change for him, etc. After a moment, her smile got a little larger and Booth could see a twinkle in her eye again. "So, I guess this outfit works for you then?"

He was so painfully turned on that his unexpected laugh came out short and loud. " Uh, yeah, Bones. Absolutely."

"Good." Sitting back in the chair, she resumed her crossed arms and huddled position in the chair. Bringing her legs up to her chest, Booth got a good shot of her lace-covered cunt and almost wanted to explode. Was she trying to kill him?

"Christ, Bones, at least cover up with this bed sheet, okay?" he muttered, reaching down to toss it to her.

Brennan looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Do you have any idea how much bacteria, semen, germs or even fecal matter could be on those sheets? I am not taking them."

He rolled his eyes. "Clearly you're cold and I'm feeling guilty and if you covered up you could help keep my eyes from wandering where they shouldn't, okay?"

She smirked, pleased now to know how much she affected him. It made her feel powerful. "I'm not going to cover myself with disgusting cloth simply because you are aroused by my presence."

"But you are cold," he said pointedly. He could practically see the goose bumps all the way from where he sat. "You and I both know you're going to get no sleep in that chair, especially when you're so chilled. Take the bed. Let me sit there – I'm going to stay awake anyway."

Her first answer was a frown. "We've had this discussion before. I refuse to allow you to hurt your back by sleeping in this chair or the floor."

"I'm not that damn fragile," he mumbled in irritation, laying back on the mound of pillows and throwing his arms up to put movement to his exasperation.

"But you do have to be in top physical health since you see yourself as my protector while we're undercover," she pointed out. "It's the same reasoning I used two nights ago when I initially requested sleeping on your couch and allowing you to keep your bed. You seemed willing to keep the bed then."

God, why could this case just not involve a bed at all? Why couldn't she be wearing actual clothing, or even his FBI sweatshirt? Why couldn't they _not _be at a whorehouse and just back in one of their apartments? "Just get over here," he barked out. Shit – where the hell had that come from?

**Author's Note:**

**Ahh, shirtless Booth… how you have distracted this poor writer of fanfiction into daydreaming… ****It will be a couple of days until the next chapter, everyone! I'm sorry to keep you all waiting, wondering what on earth will happen next, but real-life calls (drat) and I have commitments that are going to take me away from the computer for a short time. Not to worry - I will be back as soon as I possibly can! I'm so excited to continue the story with you all! In the meantime, imagine yourselves some shirtless Booths (or scantily-clad Brennans - whatever floats your boat) and before you know it Chapter 6 will be up. Thanks again for the reviews and story alerts! I _so_ appreciate it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Brennan seemed equally surprised by his declaration. "What?"

Booth sighed with exasperation. It was too late now to take the words back. Hell, if he could have her sitting there in next to nothing and talking about sex and not making love to her on the spot, she might as well lay on the bed with him - he was next to sainthood now anyway. Plus, it wasn't like they hadn't gone _this _route before. "I can't stand you sitting there for the rest of the night freezing and uncomfortable when I'm taking the bed away from you."

"It doesn't seem like a good idea," she said hesitantly, "especially given our conversation only minutes ago."

The times they'd shared a bed in the trailer in Oklahoma, or when she'd been all over him fixing his back in an elevator and the nights they had huddled on the couch sitting through a movie or one of her documentaries all came to mind. Two nights ago he had been on top of her, kissing her senseless and he'd painfully managed to pry himself off her. They had been close to each other before and he'd been able to keep himself in check. "I know," he replied, resigned to the fate he had written for himself for the remainder of the evening, "but I meant what I said, Bones, and nothing is going to happen tonight one way or another and I can't take you cold and uncomfortable. Just do it," he said simply, holding his arms out.

"I did sleep better once you came back to bed the other night," she hedged, weighing the options.

He hadn't slept at all that night either because of a cursed hard on that night, too. Here he was, repeating the torture again. He forced a grin. "Come on, Bones. I promise I won't bite."

She surprised him by getting up and nervously coming to the side of the bed. They were watching each other as if one would pounce on the other. "Um, how should I do this?" she questioned. "It's such a small bed I doubt we'll fit side to side."

Yeah, he knew that already. "Just come into my arms," he assured her. "It's okay. Just – just go slow, okay? I'll keep you warm and hopefully, then, you can get some sleep."

For what felt like an eternity, Brennan carefully did as he suggested, laying gingerly down on top of him, her legs falling in between his with her feet hanging off the edge of the bed a bit. He watched with unabashed amazement at the perfectness of her breasts in the red demi bra as she rested them on his abdomen, with the red see-through fabric beneath the bra coming into contact with the waistband of his far too tight jeans.

Yeah, he could get used to sleeping every night with Bones.

Booth gulped and then tried to remember to breathe. Her bright blue eyes were wide as she finally laid still, her chin on his chest and her hands unknowingly tickling the sides of his ribs. "Do you bite during sex?"

Christ. "We are absolutely not having this conversation."

"You're the one who mentioned biting," she reminded him. "I suppose if I were extremely aroused I might bite."

He was a hair's breath away from exploding. "Seriously, Bones, no talk about sex, okay?" It was everything he could do to keep his hands from ripping the red panties right off, sitting her up and burying himself hilt-deep inside of her, or flipping her over and embedding himself… he had to stop thinking like this!

"Fine," she muttered, her face turned to the side and her soft cheek against his chest. He could feel the rising and falling of her chest and tried to focus on her heartbeat, rather than her breasts as they lay together. Her hair lay across his entire torso, almost tickling him. Without thinking, he brought his arms up around her to give her more of his body heat. It felt so right to have her there. "You're right, you are warm," she said as he felt her hands move closer against the side of his ribs. "I can hear your heartbeat."

It was simultaneously the best and worst night of his life.

"Go ahead and sleep, Bones," he said gently, trying to focus on anything that would distract him from his raging hard-on and her near nakedness. "I'll stay awake. Sleep while you can." He felt her nod. Booth didn't want to think about what tomorrow would bring: if Trey couldn't get a lead on their suspect, who knew how long they'd have to be undercover? One thing was certain, though: he couldn't bear to see Bones up for auction again with all of the losers in the area panting after her and bidding for her like she was nothing. God knew – case or not - he wouldn't actually let one of them get within three feet of her. Instinctively, his arms tightened around her torso. He never wanted to let her go.

"I feel safe here, Booth," she murmured. Her chin came up and rested on his bare chest and her face wore a serious expression. He felt like she was examining him like bones on one of her tables; he also knew instinctually that admitting that to any man was a first for her. How courageous his Bones was. The emotion was overwhelming.

"I, uh, I feel safe with you too, Bones. Happy." Happy but with the world's most painful hard-on, he thought wryly.

Her lips came up a bit in a half smile. "I have told you before and I meant it: I'm here for you, Booth. Always."

His already-pounding heart wanted to leap out of his chest. "Always," he repeated, trying not to think of what he'd almost lost by going to Afghanistan over a year ago, when his world turned upside down. Satisfied, she turned her head back down to his chest and wiggled in an attempt to get even closer to him. It sent him through the roof. "Oh my God, Bones, don't move!" Booth cried out at the sudden movement.

"What? Why?"

He'd had it: he was seconds away from blowing his wad and he'd be damned if he'd lose it in front of her before she went first - not after he had waited all these years to make her his. He wasn't a horny teenager, for Christ's sake. Angrily, he thrust his hips upward, shoving his erection into her stomach. "That's why!"

Bad idea, he realized immediately as Brennan gasped, her eyes flying open and her head coming up to look at him. She had been impressed with Booth's size when she had seen him naked all those years ago but now, feeling his massive rod pressing into her she knew that even in her fantasies she had seriously miscalculated his girth and length. The other night a blanket had separated them: now there was nothing except his jeans and her panties. Helplessly she wondered how he would feel within her, and would he even fit? It had been awhile for her and it would be tight… tight and fantastic. Fantasies flew across her thoughts as she felt herself grow wet between her legs. Her mouth opened to respond to him, but all she could manage was a small "Ohh," How could she have ever doubted how much he wanted her?

Booth jerked his brown eyes away from hers and sent them sky high. He couldn't look at her. He couldn't. For a moment, neither of them moved and hardly breathed. After awhile, he heard her whisper, "I could help you with that, Booth."

Jesus, Mary and Joseph. His heart was racing even as he managed to shake his head, trying not to imagine a thousand ways it would feel to have Brennan's mouth, hand, anything! on his dick. "No." Breathe, Booth, breathe. "Thanks, but no. No sex of any kind, got it?"

"You must be in acute discomfort," she reasoned. "It makes no sense to suffer all night when I can assist you." She started to move her hand down. "Since you don't want to make love to me tonight we can still relieve you."

His hand came and clamped down on her wrist abruptly over his hip on her trajectory to his crotch. They looked each other in the eyes and she was taken aback by the flame of desire she saw in his dark eyes. Dangerous desire. Anger. Passion. Her breathing quickened and she felt her panties dampen more. "I said no," he ground out. "I can live with this. It's not a matter of me not wanting to make love to you, Temperance Brennan: that couldn't be farther from the truth. I want you more than I've ever wanted any woman, but you know what I want from you and I'm willing to wait until I hear it. And I'm sure as hell not going to let anything sexual happen between us here in a fucking brothel. Are we clear?" He knew he was probably sounding like an asshole, but he couldn't help it. He was dangerously close to breaking his own rules and having at her right here right now.

Slowly, she breathed in an out under the intensity of his gaze. "I understand," she said softly, putting her head back down as emotion flooded through her. All she could think of was how much this man must love her, denying himself of satisfaction of any kind simply so she would know how much he cherished her and thought her worthy of far more than a fast, phenomenal fuck.

It's what she was still thinking as she eventually succumbed to sleep with the gentle touch of Booth's large hands on her back, softly rubbing his thumbs across the flimsy fabric beneath her bra and lulling her into a comforting unconsciousness.

**Author's Note:**

**Thoughts? I'm not sure why, but was nervous about sharing this chapter. Don't worry: there's a lot more to come!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Believe it or not, the most agonizing moments of the night hadn't come with the talk about sex or the sight of her in next to nothing. It wasn't Bones offering to service him, or having her rub herself all over him. No –the most agonizing part of the night came about two-thirty in the morning. He had stayed awake, true to his word, with his raging hard-on ever present while she slept. By that time of the night, one of her legs and moved to the outside of his. He had let her move that much, since he could tell she was dreaming and didn't want to disturb her.

Booth couldn't ignore, though, the knowledge that her lace-covered pussy was on top of his thigh. It was all he could think about, in fact, when he wasn't distracted by her shoved up breasts against his chest or her soft face against his skin. He watched her dream, her blue eyes dancing beneath her eyelids, the legs alongside his starting to rub against him. It was certain now: a night of unrequited lovemaking with Bones was about to kill him.

Gradually, her breathing quickened and soft whimpers escaped her throat. He almost couldn't believe it, though, when he heard her whisper his name on a sigh. No- he thought desperately as realization dawned on him - it wasn't possible. Christ, was she having a sex dream about him – on top of him? He tried to remember the saints instead of imagining how easy it would be to pull her panties aside and make the dream a reality.

He made it halfway down the alphabet of saints before he realized his thigh, warmed by her lower half, was now damp with her arousal. He could feel it through his jeans. Before he knew what he was doing, he'd instinctually lifted his hips off the bed slightly at the acute pain and stimulation. Oh God, was all he was thinking, chanting over and over to himself. Brennan must have felt the jostle, though, because he heard her suck in her breath sharply, a small cry falling from her lips even though she never woke up. Holy fuck, he mentally cursed, his wide brown eyes glued to her face. There was only one reason for the sound she had made: she had just come in her dream about the two of them making love. Was she imagining it like he had imagined it? What would her face look like flushed with orgasm?

Booth bit his own lower lip so hard in an attempt to maintain his own self-control that he could taste blood. Never before had he not only maintained a hard-on, but his cock was so hard it could drive nails into the wall. If the day ever came where she was ready for what he was asking for and they made love, he wondered if he'd make it thirty seconds inside her tight heat without losing it.

Don't think about it, he told himself. Think about pretty flowers, puppies, plants… pounding into Bones. No! Poetry, the Patriots, hockey pucks, Parker… there it was! Parker. Yes, he couldn't think about burying himself in Bones if he thought about his son. Parker: his son would save him.

-X-

It worked. Going over memories with Parker, worrying about his school, college tuition costs, general-well-being, etc. was enough to turn the hellish hours from two-thirty into four-thirty in the morning into something he could bear.

About four-thirty in the morning he began to hear some movement in the hallway and car doors opening and closing outside. Reluctantly, he knew it was time to get moving. "Wake up, Bones," he murmured softly, waking her into the early morning darkness.

"Hmmm…" was the reply that came. Instead of opening her eyes, she snuggled further into him, unconsciously unwilling to break contact with him. He smiled.

If it weren't for their surroundings and the fact that they had to maintain cover, he never would have wanted to move. Holding Temperance Brennan was exactly where he wanted to be, always. "Come on, Bones," he prodded gently, trying to shift his own weight beneath her by sitting up on one elbow, the other arm still around her.

Booth felt her lashes flutter open. "Booth," she said quietly, sitting up a little bit. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes only half open. One arm came up and covered her breasts in sudden modesty as her perfect ass came to sit between his spread legs. She was so beautiful she stole his breath. "What time is it?"

He illuminated his cell phone. "Four thirty-eight am," he replied. "I can hear people in the hallway and getting into cars outside – probably the men that have to get home to D.C. or nearby towns and put cover stories in place for wives and girlfriends." Booth's voice was filled with uncontrolled distaste.

Hesitantly, Brennan dropped the arm she'd been using to cover herself and leaned back to look at him. She stayed sitting between his legs. "Do you have to go now, too?"

Booth hated hearing the underlying vulnerability in her voice: they were both very out of their element here, her as a prostitute and he as the douche-bag client. It was even worse now because he had to leave her. "Yeah," he said reluctantly. "I can probably hang out a little bit longer, but I don't want to do anything unusual that would draw attention to us."

"I think it was unusual a client spent five thousand dollars on a prostitute last night."

She was right about that. He shrugged. "Maybe so, but I wasn't going to let anyone else have you." He saw her take a deep breath, but she remained silent. The double-meaning to his words hung in the air and he knew she understood he meant more than what had transpired the night before. "In any case," he continued, "as soon as I'm out of here Trey and I will work up the background information for the asshole who bid on you. I have a gut feeling he's our guy."

A frown found its way to her face. "You're gut is not an accurate indicator of guilt, Booth. We have no evidence to support that theory and we don't have any DNA samples from him. You should have let him win the bid and then I could have gathered a sample from him in this room. That would have been the logical thing to do."

As if he would have let that happen. What was she thinking? Had she no clue the danger she could have been in? "No fucking way," he rasped, looking at her with disbelief as he sat up straight. "Are you crazy, Bones? He would have raped you. Maybe beat you. You could have ended up like just like Maggie. You of all people know how much that girl suffered before she died."

A mental flip cart ran through her head of the girl's injuries: blunt trauma to the ribs, chest, head. Restraining at the wrists. Evidence of sexual assault. Brennan bit her lower lip. "We should have thought out our options better. Perhaps if there had been more time to establish a credible cover before the auction we could have come up with another avenue for garnering information." She looked away from him. "It's not like I'm going to be any safer here alone today. There's another auction tonight. If we don't find any evidence…" her voice trailed off.

Without thinking, Booth reached over and took both of her hands in his, then waited until she looked him directly in the eyes. "We will find out who he is. We'll match the profile, find evidence, haul the son of a bitch in. I'll do whatever it takes, Bones. One way or another, I will do anything to keep you from getting up on that stage again, okay?"

Brennan unequivocally believed him. "Okay."

"And I'm not going far. Trey's back in the D.C. office, but I'm staying here. I'm going to pull the SUV over to the dried creek bed and bridge I told you about. I'll be there if you need me. I'm within earshot." He held her hands a little tighter. "And if anything – anything – makes you uncomfortable or nervous, you meet me there, understand?"

It wasn't rational, but she felt better knowing he was close by. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered when she had become so dependent on Booth – in every way. "I understand."

"I mean it, Bones. I'm right there and I will be back as soon as I can to keep a plausible cover as an extremely satisfied and returning customer. But shout, run, scream, walk, hide, send up goddamn smoke signal if you need me - I'm coming for you one way or another."

The earnest look on his face touched her. She wondered what she had ever done to deserve the care so evident in his features. To think; she had almost lost that once-upon-a-time. She didn't want to lose him again. "If I need you or feel threatened I will find you, Booth. I promise."

He relaxed a little bit. "I'll leave the room first," he said. "Follow a little bit later, okay? And don't forget to act like you've done this before."

A mischievous smile played across her lips. "I can do that. I'm going to act as I imagine I would be physically after a night of lovemaking with you: hardly able to walk and extremely satisfied."

Christ! This woman could make his cock twitch with a smile and a sentence. Before he could respond, she added, "I wish I had a few teeth marks and scraps across my skin to prove it."

"Bones," he practically groaned, "don't."

The smile grew. "What?" she questioned, feigning innocence. It was then that he noticed her hand had come to rest on his hard thigh, dangerously close to –

"Stop." He commanded, trying to gain control over his raging erection for what felt like the millionth time since he'd seen her that night, his hand clamping down on hers. All of a sudden, the desperation he felt became more emotional than physical. Maybe he'd spent too long fantasizing about the two of them. Maybe it was the result of a sleepless night or the danger she was still in – he didn't know. "I meant what I said last night, Bones. I can't – we can't – do this." His voice broke.

Just like that, the flirting died as Brennan looked into his dark brown eyes so serious, so full of need and desperation. She heard the hurt, the anger and the fear in his voice and it felt like a giant weight upon her chest. "I can't forget what it felt like, Bones. I can't forget what it felt like to kiss you and have you push me away, telling me you couldn't take a chance on us." He got up from the bed and walked to the window, the hint of light illuminating his skin and muscles. He looked so strong – almost invincible – but the hurt in his voice indicated otherwise. He kept his back turned towards her. "I can't tell you how many times I've watched you drive away or run away, like when you went to Maluku. I never would have gone to Afghanistan if you'd stayed. But you kept leaving and each time… each time it killed me a little."

Brennan felt as if she were shattering inside. "I never meant to hurt you, Booth," she whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin between them. Her wide blue eyes were glued to his back. "I was trying to protect you; to save you from hurt."

He turned to look at her, his expression unreadable. "Well, it's too late on that front now, isn't it?"

For a moment there was silence as they stared at each other. Finally, she stood up and broke the stalemate. "Are you angry with me, Booth?"

There was a sigh in the early morning darkness and she could hear the truth in his voice. "No, Bones. I'm not – honestly." He stopped what he was saying and came closer to her as she stood up alongside the bed. His gaze was intent and absolutely serious, but his hand came up and touched the side of her face gently. She leaned into his hand slightly, tears threatening to form.

Touching this woman in front of him, Booth knew he couldn't stand to lose her again. It seemed as though she was almost ready for a real relationship: all he needed to do was ensure that both of them would be ready for the other. If she ever ran from him again, if she ever pushed him away again, his heart would simply break. There would be no recovering. "Just promise me, Bones – promise me you won't try to save me from hurt again."

Brennan's mouth opened a bit. How would she respond to that? It was not a promise she wanted to make, since she would always want to save Booth in any way she could. Nonetheless, if she declined, would he retreat from her once again – possibly for the last time? Would she lose his love and affection forever?

Before she could respond, his cell phone buzzed. Booth took it from his pocket and read the text on his screen. "Redfern is one of the guys watching the perimeter," he explained. "He said that our ponytail guy left the hotel and headed west." He looked at her. "So, I guess this means I can leave for now."

She took a deep breath, grateful for a reprieve from the tension from the moment before. When he looked down to text his team member back, she went into the bathroom to retrieve the foul smelling t-shirt. She brought it back out to him as he looked back up at her. "I'll see you tonight then."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. "Count on it," he said, lifting it over his head and putting it on, letting their previous conversation die: he didn't want to increase her tension before an already stressful day in front of them. "Remember what I said, okay? I'm within earshot and running distance. I'm not going anywhere."

Looking down, Brennan realized he had taken one of her hands in his. His hands were so large, so warm: she loved the way they enveloped hers. She squeezed his fingers gently. "Neither am I, Booth."

A look of understanding crossed his face and the corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. With a nod of his head and a mountain of reluctance, he let her go and walked out the door. Leaning against the doorframe, Brennan watched him walk away, her heart feeling irrationally heavier than it had ever been before. She knew for the rest of her life she'd regret walking away from him when he offered her his heart so long ago, but she also knew until the day she died she'd never want anyone the way she wanted the man who was walking away.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

**Warning:**** this chapter contains violence against women, so if you are uncomfortable with that, please wait and catch up with us at Chapter 9. It is a topic I take **_**extremely**_** seriously, so you will see in an upcoming chapter that (outside of the story) I will indicate the victim(s) of such violence will seek counseling for the ordeal: it is by no means meant as a "quick fix" but just to show that it is something the character has to work through. This is far from a lighthearted story (hence the M rating for sex, language, violence) but I do promise eventual B&B smut, a happy ending and for it to *hopefully* make perfect sense leading into the S06E23 episode "The Change in the Game". **

**Chapter 8**

The morning passed uneventfully for Brennan. Some of the other women went into town to shop while others slept, but she spent the time trying to make conversation with the ones left behind – anything to help with the case.

Unfortunately, they all ignored her. Every time she started to try to talk to one of them they would disregard her and walk away or tell her in a profane way to make herself scarce. It wasn't as if she had been expecting a warm welcome amongst the women, but it seemed as if Booth's high bid had increased their disregard for her, the newcomer. It didn't help that she felt socially awkward to begin with: it wasn't as if she had Angela's gift for 'girl talk', as Ange would call it. By the time early afternoon came, she gave up on the attempt at getting information from them. She missed her lab. She missed finding evidence in bones instead of looking for it in people.

As the time dragged on she became more and more concerned. Booth had promised her that she wouldn't have to go through a night up for auction again – and she believed him – but time was growing scarce. Would he go to Geraldine and "buy" her ahead of time? Would she have to be here another day? Another week? Was Maggie's killer the man with the ponytail or if not, would they ever get justice for her?

Unanswered questions floated around in her mind, so Brennan headed outside for a walk around the hotel grounds before the sun set. The prostitution business clearly made a substantial amount of cash because the gardens were surprisingly well kept up. The fact that they were surrounded by woods also let itself to a picturesque setting which clearly betrayed the sinister reality that lay in front of it in the hotel. Her gaze fell to the trees to the east where she knew Booth sat by his SUV and she couldn't help the look of longing that must have crossed her features. Being with him was as natural now as breathing: if only they could move past the residue of resentment Hannah had left in her wake – if only he wasn't angry as a result. It made her remember that snowy day when she and Booth had been stuck in the elevator: they had talked about sex and a relationship together - why had she told him she didn't see the two of them as a couple? Granted, there were clear indicators that their personalities were vastly different and would therefore complicate a romantic relationship: she dealt in facts and evidence, he in instinct and intuition. She reacted in rationality, he reacted in emotion. When it came down to greater values, however, were they really that different? They both believed in the pursuit of justice, truth and the importance of friends and family. They were both driven, passionate people. They both cared for each other… would it be enough to make a long term relationship work?

There were too many variables in her pondering! Brennan turned and walked down the path that wound around small shrubs and topiaries, letting the feel of sunshine calm the nerves she was experiencing. After a few moments of her mentally scrounging up her courage again – and trying not to look to her left where Booth sat several yards to the east - she turned right and went into the hotel's side door.

As soon as she entered the hotel, she heard a woman's strained voice coming from behind one of the first doors along the hallway.

"I'm not on now," she was saying as Brennan came to stand still, just out of sight around the corner.

"I don't give a shit," came the growl from a deep male voice. "It's not like I'm planning on payin' you. You're gonna give it to me for free." A hand was slapped.

"No," came the whimper as Brennan realized she was hearing the young girl she'd met yesterday named Rapture. There was a sound of flesh meeting flesh as she knew from the sound that the man had struck her. Before Brennan knew what she was doing, she flung open the closed door to confront the two of them. It was a first-floor bedroom, she realized instantly. It was large, with a four-poster bed and chairs off to the left and large windows facing north and east; this must be a room used by Geraldine's more experienced, higher-priced prostitutes. It wasn't the room that got her attention: she sucked in her breath because she was face to face with the huge, muscular black-haired ponytail man from last night who had bid on her. She was so shocked, in fact, she couldn't find words. Hadn't he left? What was he doing back here?

Recognition flashed across his face. "Well, if it isn't the whore that douche paid five thousand dollars for," he said, eyeing her up and down as his fat hand grasped Rapture angrily by the upper arm.

"Help me," the young girl pleaded to Brennan, her eyes wide and her body wiggling in an attempt to get away. It was absolutely clear what was about to happen here unless she could stop it.

"Leave her alone," she said finally, trying to summon a sense of command to her voice as she moved to stand between them and the door that led to the hallway.

"Regretting the fact I didn't fuck you last night?" he taunted, hauling the girl closer to him. His gaze traveled over her body and she couldn't help the shiver of dread at the lust in his beady eyes. This man still wanted her: there was no mistaking his interest in her. Where was Booth?

"She's not on until tonight," Brennan argued, stepping closer and hoping she could delay the man's attempts until she could get Rapture out of there and over to Booth. Undercover or not, she was not going to let one more person suffer from a man who was clearly the front running suspect of rape and murder. She was skilled in self-defense, after all. "Let her go."

Before she could react, he let go of Rapture and his hand shot out and grabbed her by the upper arms. "It's time you found out what you missed," he hissed, his eyes dangerous slits of hatred as she struggled to free herself from his grasp.

"I'll tell Geraldine," she threatened, simultaneously trying to decide how to get out of this predicament – a groin kick? Go for the eyes? What move would work?

That was the wrong thing to say, she realized, as his lips pressed thin as one hand let go over her and pulled out a gun hidden in the back of his jeans. "You do and I kill you." She gasped at the sight of the gun – no wonder the jackass was so confident about forcing Rapture to have sex with him without paying. He _had _been the one to kill the other women, including Maggie – she could see it in his vacant, lust-filled eyes. While it wasn't actual proof, she saw the truth: he was going to kill her now, she realized. Clearly he had muscle that would eventually overpower her and when he was finished raping her he'd either beat her to death or shoot her. At least she had spared Rapture the torment. "This is even better," he snarled. "I'm going to keep my five thousand dollars and fuck you until you bleed."

A cry behind Brennan shocked her as Rapture hurled herself at them, her fingers out like claws as she attacked him. He was shocked, too, because he let go of her long enough to ward of the attack. Thank God for the help! Brennan thought desperately, turning to see their attacker with one of his hands around Rapture's throat and the other hand bringing the gun up, clearly overpowering the poor girl. Brennan lunged at them both, going for a full body blow.

All at once his grip from Rapture came loose as Brennan's full weight knocked him over and the gun fell to the ground near the bed. "Help!" she screamed as his huge hand came up and fisted in her hair, using it to pull her off of him. Blinding pain rushed through her scalp. "Help!" she screamed, hoping beyond hope that Booth could hear her from his hideout. But how could he when they were inside? Ponytail man went over to the door and the clicking sound she heard confirmed her worst suspicion as she quickly swiped tears of pain from her eyes – he had locked the door. He was standing between both of them and the door.

As she stood up a fist connected with her ribs and the air left Brennan's lungs as Rapture screamed impressively loud. Brennan fell back to the ground but saw the raven haired girl begin to pound the ponytail man as Brennan got to her feet again, grateful the girl hadn't left her alone to be beaten. Not hesitating, Brennan ran for the east side window: she picked up a lamp and smashed the window with everything she had in her. The glass shattered but left jagged edges pointed upwards like ominous knives. They had to get out of here! Turning, she saw that Raven was pushed into the wall. Brennan turned to the side of the bed and tried to best him with her extensive martial arts training, but his ghastly brute strength was overwhelming. "Help!" she shouted yet again, which was silenced as his foot came up and connected with her upper chest, throwing her to the ground dangerously close to the broken glass from the window. "Help!" Where were the other women? Where was Booth? Why wasn't anyone helping them?

"You're just asking for a final fuck," he growled, coming down on top of her. She tried to hit him even as he was forcing her legs open with his. One hand was reaching under her shirt and she felt her bra give way as his angry finger nails scraped at her breast.

"No!" she gasped. She turned her head and bit the arm that was holding her chest down.

"Fucking bitch!" he screamed as she saw blood on his arm. The hand that was under her shirt came up and slammed against the side of her head. She saw a bright light, and then pain flooded her.

-X-

The sound of distant screaming pierced the silent air as Booth looked up from the back of the SUV, where he was perched with his laptop open, emailing Trey and the rest of his team. His heart stopped for a minute when he heard Bones' voice calling for help in the distance. Another woman screamed. It was barely audible.

"Shit!" he snapped to the empty air as he dropped the computer, checked his gun for bullets and took off towards the hotel, his legs flying over forest floor debris, branches and logs. He had to get to Bones! Why the hell had he ever left her alone? His heart raced in fear far more than the physical exertion of running with only one thought running around in his head – what if he didn't get there in time?

Every second felt like an eternity as he dashed to her rescue, but his breath caught again when he heard her cry for help. Running faster than he ever had in his life suddenly the trees parted and he came upon the hotel. At first, he didn't see anything unusual until he noticed a broken window near a door.

Gun drawn, he burst through the doorway and came upon the first door to the right – the one with the broken glass window, he was certain. He could hear the sounds of a struggle behind the door as dread filled him. He knew Bones was behind that door. It was locked! He heard the sound of a punch as his foot came up and slammed against the door. The wood creaked and splintered, but did not let him in. Briefly he thought about going to the broken window but decided it would take too long to go back outside. Leaning back, with all of the force coursing through him he slammed his foot into the door again and it burst open, revealing the most horrifying sight he could imagine.

What was happening in front of him made his blood run cold.

A dark haired girl had blood dripping down her face from her nose as she lay on the ground near two armchairs off to the left. The ponytail guy from the night before was on top of Bones, who was lying on the floor near a large bed. His Bones. His legs were forcing hers apart as his arms were hitting her. There was a gun lying on the floor near a dresser about four feet away from Bones and she was trying to reach it with him on top of her. Pinning her down. One of his hands was pulling at her jeans. He was trying to rape her: he was trying to rape Bones. Still running, Booth pointed the gun even as his heart hit the ground at the horrific sight in front of him. "Freeze!"

Ponytail guy's eyes came up and saw Booth. Instantly he pulled Brennan on top of him to block Booth's shot even as he came closer. "Let her go!" Booth commanded, coming up to the two of them and reaching with one arm to try and pull Bones away. If he moved Bones he could have a clear shot – he couldn't risk firing when he could hit her!

Without warning, Booth felt his leg give out and realized he had moved too close. As Booth fell to the ground, he realized the man with the ponytail had swept Booth's leg with his own. He hit the ground hard and his gun dropped but heard Brennan scramble off her attacker. He must have had to let her go to bring Booth down.

"A fucking cop!" the man roared, landing punches on Booth. For a fleeting moment Booth was grateful he'd distracted the asshole long enough to get him away from Bones. He punched the man in return as they wrestled and fought. Booth shoved him back so hard the man flipped backwards and back onto the ground; hitting his head on the side of the bed frame, but it didn't knock him out. His leg came up and punched Booth's kneecap before he'd grabbed his gun that he had been reaching for. Booth's leg buckled and he dropped as the ponytail guy's head came up from the carpet to see Bones scrambling for the gun. He yanked her by the leg, moving her backwards and causing her to cry out in pain as her knees scrapped and flamed with rug burn. Her shirt was ripped; a bra strap hung brokenly down from within the remnants of the shirt. Booth reached for his gun then turned swiftly, getting up on his feet as his knee flared with pain.

It was too late. Ponytail guy had reached his own gun before Bones and was pointing it directly at Booth. "I've been set up," he snarled as Bones staggered to her feet, her eyes wide with fear and glancing between his gun and its target, Booth. He was going to kill him and rape Bones next to his dead body – he couldn't let that happen! She was almost within arm's reach of him. It would have been the last time he could've touched her.

"Run Bones," he ordered, his voice low. It didn't seem there was any way out of it for him now – the guy would get a shot off before Booth could raise his arms. It was over for him, but she could be saved. She had to be saved. "Run!" God, why wasn't she moving? She remained positively frozen despite his command.

An dangerous smile marred her attacker's face. "I hope this bitch was worth it." His finger moved on the trigger.

"No!" Brennan screamed. All within an instant Booth saw her move in front of him even as his own arm came up in a last ditch attempt to kill the son of a bitch. He saw the ponytail guy get a shot off. He saw his own finger squeeze the trigger. Bones fell. He saw blood. Then there was more blood as a bullet hole appeared between ponytail guy's eyes. He fell backwards, his face a mask of death as his body hit the dresser and crumpled lifelessly. Booth looked down at the ground and saw Brennan and blood. His Bones and blood.

The world stopped turning.

His heart stopped beating.

"Bones!" he screamed hoarsely, taking a step and falling to his knees beside her, his heart in his throat and his eyes falling over her body to pinpoint the injury. From the corner of his eye he saw the young dark haired girl sit up, looking dazed. He tossed his phone to her and she caught it. "Call 9-1-1!" he barked at her, not giving a shit about their case or anything else but the woman lying in front of him. If she was dead… blood was all over the carpet. If she was dead…. no, he couldn't handle it: he absolutely couldn't fathom a world without her. This was all his fault. He realized Bones was stirring in the same instant he realized blood was coming from the arm she was lying on. "Bones," he whispered, trying to gently turn her to see her wound as he heard the girl make the phone call. Christ, there was so much blood. But it didn't look fatal. It didn't look fatal.

She turned over with him gingerly, her pained blue eyes filling with relief when she saw him uninjured and kneeling over her. "Booth," she said softly, a small look of contentment flickering across her face before she let her eyes close and felt Booth haul her up into his arms.

-X-

Within the next twenty minutes FBI vehicles surrounded the perimeter of the building. Geraldine had been taken into custody by one of his team and Brennan was sitting in the back of an ambulance, arguing with a paramedic regarding the severity of her injuries.

"Bones, let the man look at your ribs," Booth was saying on a sigh, his eyes still looking at the blood seeping out of a patchwork bandage on her upper arm below her shoulder as he was silently wishing he had been able to tear the man apart limb by limb and make him suffer before putting the bullet in his forehead. The thought of what that man was about to do to her…

"It is not necessary, Booth," she responded, her face pale but her resolve back one hundred percent. "I am the leading forensic anthropologist in the nation – I would know if my own ribs were broken. Perhaps they are bruised, but I am otherwise fine."

It never failed to intrigue him how she could remain unfailingly _rational_ in almost any situation; in times like this it drove him nuts. "God, you're not fine Bones," he retorted, getting a word in before the paramedic. He turned to him. "Can we get her to the hospital already?"

"That's a good idea," the paramedic agreed as one of Booth's agents, Redfern, came up to him.

"Agent Booth, I just got a call from Caroline Julian. She'll prosecute the case, but she needs to speak with you when she gets here," the man said, glancing at Brennan and back to Booth.

He wished everyone would go away so he could drive the damn ambulance to the hospital himself. "She's coming down here?" Booth questioned.

"Yes. She'll run through what happened here a few minutes ago and talk to you about the case."

Booth frowned, looking back at Brennan. There was only one place he had to be. "I can't do that. I'm going to the hospital with Dr. Brennan," he said. He couldn't stop looking at her arm: her scrapped knees. The way she sat leaning slightly to the right as if she were protecting her ribcage. That fucking broken bra strap still hanging down from the inside of her tattered shirt. "Tell Caroline I'll talk to her later."

"We need you to oversee the transport of the body, too, and we're having trouble with the local police," Redfern continued. "See that detective over there?" He pointed to a man in his fifties or sixties next to a police car with gray hair and a pompous pose. "He's arguing that they have jurisdiction. As the ranking agent, we need you to talk to him."

Brennan looked at him. "It's okay, Booth," she said softly, putting her hand on his. It was a small thing, but he was grateful she felt free enough to touch him whenever she wanted. "I'll see you at the hospital. Take care of this."

He shook his head. She had almost been raped and she expected him to walk away? That wasn't happening. Even if she didn't need him with her, he needed her. "You were almost raped, Bones," he said, his voice breaking a bit. "I should never have let you out of my sight. I'm not going anywhere but to the hospital with you."

Her blue eyes looked down. "I was not raped, Booth. He was… unable to remove my jeans… I was not… penetrated…"

"Stop." She had to stop talking now. Right now. The bra strap still hung there. The memories were still right there in her thoughts – who knew what the psychological trauma would be for her? Where was Sweets when he actually needed him? "No way, Bones," he continued finally, "I need to be with you."

"You _need _to take care of this," she responded, her confidence starting to gather. "We both need for this case to be wrapped up. My injuries are not life threatening and it is not necessary for you to be present while my wounds are given attention." Concern preoccupied her as she noticed how bothered Booth seemed to be. He appeared to be wound up; most likely the resulting adrenaline from their violent encounter. Perhaps he needed to be separated from the evidence of her injuries, she concluded. Her nose came up a bit as confidence filled her voice. "Besides, I am entirely capable of verifying the results of the doctor's examination of my injuries. Let's wrap up this case. I'll see you later."

Warily, Booth looked at her as if he wasn't convinced she was entirely out of danger. "I don't know, Bones…" he said, his voice trailing. He didn't want to leave her. He didn't want to leave her ever again, but he also didn't want to cause her distress by arguing with her after everything she'd just been through.

"I'll see you later." Her face was pale but her smile reassuring.

His lips were pursed but she could almost see the instant he gave into her request. "I'll come soon," he promised, moving away from the back of the ambulance even as his gut filled with dread and uncertainty. The paramedic helped her to stand and sit down on the inside bench of the ambulance.

"Thanks for coming for me, Booth," she said softly, her blue eyes full of emotion as she recalled the sight of him charging at her and her assailant as he had burst through the door. Somehow – as illogical as it was - she had known in that instant she would be saved.

A lump formed in Booth's throat as his dark eyes met hers. "Always," he managed, his own words of thanks getting stuck on his tongue. The terrifying image of her flying in front of a bullet meant for him ran over and over in his thoughts like a horror film scene on a continuous loop. He wanted to thank her for saving him. He wanted to grab her and ask her what the fuck she had been thinking putting herself in such danger, but all of the words remained bottled up.

She knew he wanted to say more, but the paramedic shut the door and then he was gone.

**Author's Note****:**

**I was **_**thisclose **_**to leaving it on a cliffhanger before Booth rescued Brennan, but a) I didn't want to leave poor Brennan in such a supremely sucky situation and b) I didn't want to risk your wrath: I figured you guys would like a longer chapter if given the choice. ****The immediate threat may be over but there's more angst, drama and lovin' in store for Booth and Brennan: stay tuned! Thanks again for all the reviews - they just make my day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

**Ready, set, angst!**

**Chapter 9**

Booth marched into her private hospital room that night entirely wound up. His heart still felt like it was beating unevenly and he'd been completely preoccupied by Bones' condition while he'd wrapped up the legal crap required of him after killing a suspect and the details of the case with Caroline. He was running on fumes: in the last three days he'd only slept about six hours. He was beyond tired but entirely anxious to be beside Bones again. Unfortunately, the longer he had been away from her the more the irritation built until he felt like balloon filling with too much air, ready to burst. As soon as he could he had run from the hotel from hell to the hospital, completely pissed he hadn't been able to go with her in the first place.

He should be the one in the hospital, not her.

He should never have left her alone in that brothel.

He should have let her go undercover in the first place.

"Booth," she said, a tired smile on her face as he entered the single patient room. How could she still manage a smile after losing Vincent, selling herself at a brothel, almost getting raped and then taking a bullet meant for him? His breath caught slightly at the sight of her in her hospital gown, her hair looking limp and her face pale. Her eyes looked wide, with slightly dark circles underneath them and her arm was propped up in bandages. She looked so damn fragile that he felt sick: all of this for him.

"Bones," he returned. "How are you feeling?"

She was not an expert at reading human behavior by any means, but even Temperance Brennan could recognize the strange sound in Booth's voice. He sounded… strained. Upset. "I'm as well as can be expected, thank you. As I informed you when you called a half an hour ago I have some very minor muscle damage but no damage to my bone or nervous system. I have seen the x-rays and I concur with my doctor that it seems to be a flesh wound. I also have some slight bruising on my ribs and surface skin injuries on my knees, but she expects me to make a full and rapid recovery. I have no specific sexual assault injuries," she glanced down, "I am even being discharged tomorrow morning."

"You don't look alright."

A puzzled expression flashed across her face. "I'm not: I just told you. I will, however, recover fully."

He shook his head. "That's not what I meant, Bones," he muttered, pacing around the small hospital room. She watched him curiously, contemplating why he was displaying the signs of preoccupation and unease. He looked her over carefully, anger building inside of him at his own self-loathing at his incompetence. It was his entire fault she was here and in pain. "You just look so goddamn fragile." He had to ask the question that had been plaguing him since her assault. "Why did you do it?"

"What?"

The innocence of her reaction sent him over the edge he'd been teetering on since that horrifying moment when he saw her put herself between him and the bullet meant for him. "Why did you jump in front of me?" he blurted. "I mean, for Christ's sake, Bones – you could've been killed! What the hell possessed you to do something so outrageously stupid?" He knew she was hurt and needed to rest instead of get crap from him: he knew he should be walking out that door right now, but nonetheless, his feet refused to move to the door. It was as if he was stuck in cement – or concrete: he never could remember the difference she pointed out between the two.

Brennan still wore a perplexed expression. "I never do anything stupid, Booth. I jumped in the way to save you. I knew there was a possibility of death, obviously. In that split second I chose that risk because I believed the ends justified the means."

Booth took two menacing steps forward until he stood only a few feet from her bedside. His face was a mask of wild desperation: it was not a look she was accustomed to seeing across his normally handsome features. It left her uncertain. "That wasn't your choice to make, Bones," he said quietly and angrily. "It is my job – mine -" he jabbed a finger to his chest, "to make sure you are safe. That you are protected. I'm the FBI agent; you are the forensic anthropologist. I am the one prepared to take the bullet for you, not the other way around. My life's the one on the fucking line – are we clear?"

Her eyes narrowed. "We most certainly are not," she returned, feeling her anger start to gather. Who did he think he was to order her around? His alpha male domination seemed to be in overdrive and after the days she'd had, she wasn't about to endure it for long. "We are partners, Booth. Partners. I wanted to protect you and so I did what was necessary to ensure your survival. You've done the same for me."

There was a moment when he realized he should listen to his brain telling him to walk away, but he couldn't stop himself. All of the fear for her he'd felt these past hours – or days, really – came bursting out of his mouth before he could stop it. He had to make her understand: he had to. "It's your survival that matters when we're down to the wire, Bones, not mine! We're partners but I'm supposed to protect you: to keep you safe. Do you have any idea how horrifying it is for me to see you lying in the hospital bed, all bandaged up because of me? Do you have any idea how close you came to dying for me?"

"It's just a non-fatal gunshot wound, Booth," she replied, keeping her voice even in the hopes it would calm him down from this angry guilt-trip he seemed to be on. "It isn't worth being upset."

"You are worth it, Bones. You are completely and totally worth it," he retorted, his hands on his hips. The words were flying out faster than he could stop them. "Why can't you see that? You scared the shit out of me, just like Hannah did when she was shot in the leg. This is worse though, because it's my fault you're there."

Anger began to build inside of her. How could he react like this? She had expected an outcome of gratitude from him at her impetuous heroism and concern for her well-being, not rage. Plus, it was irrational but she did not like being compared to Hannah; it still hurt too much. "I make my own choices. Me, not you," she snapped back. "I do not appreciate being spoken to in such a way or this domineering behavior you are exhibiting."

"And I do not appreciate being here in a hospital _again _watching a woman that means everything to me suffer because of a bad decision."

"A" woman. He'd said "a" woman - were all of his women the same to him? Brennan felt fury course through her, causing her to sit up straighter."Tell me, Booth, am I to be compared to Hannah from here forward? Am I always going to be the woman you ended up with because the other one got away? The relief prize?"

Booth took a step back, surprise flickering across his face. It took a second to register what she meant. "Whoa, do you mean the consolation prize?"

His tone sounded condescending to her. "Yes!" she shouted back. "Do you honestly think the thought had not occurred to me that you were simply attempting emotionally to settle for me because another woman turned you down? Do you think I am finding it easy to rationalize to myself the risk of a potential romantic relationship with you after you told me – you told me! – that you knew I was the one for you, only to have you show up months later lusting after someone else? Loving someone else?" Tears formed in her eyes. She'd just lost Vincent a couple of days ago and practically raped a few hours beforehand – why was Booth putting her through this? She was entirely worn out and at the same time, anger-fueled adrenaline coursed through her. Her free hand came up to point at her chest. "I am not her, Booth."

For a split second he felt thrown off his game at the thought of Brennan thinking she was a consolation prize. As much as he had tried to deny the fact when he was with Hannah, he knew she was the only one for him; she had been from the beginning. His days had always began and ended with her in his mind and his heart. He had never told her that, though, and that realization made his heart hurt more, if that was possible. "I know that, Bones -"

She cut him off before he could continue. "The only reason I'm in this hospital bed is because I wanted to save you, not because I'm chasing a story."

"Bones, you could have died. Died," he reiterated. How could she not grasp this concept? "Poof – just like that, Temperance Brennan would have been the same as the bones on her examination table. Who you are… you would have been gone." The thought absolutely, positively terrified him. "There's no excuse for putting your life in danger."

"I did it for you!" she shot back. "You are a parent, Booth: your life is more important. _You_ are important. I weighed the options a long time ago and knew that if a life and death decision had to be made, I valued your life enough to attempt to save it, whatever the cost."

Booth shook his head. "Just this morning I asked you to promise me, Bones. I asked you to promise that you wouldn't do anything to try to save me from hurt. You couldn't listen though, could you? You just do whatever you feel is the most logical and rational, like some goddamn computer program. I'm surprised you didn't consult a Ghant chart before decided to put yourself in front of his gun." _Shit,_ he immediately thought to himself.

"Get out."

The venom in her voice, the look of fury on her face struck him as if she had hit him. What the fuck had he just done? What had been coming out of his mouth? "Bones-"

"I said get out!" she shouted, her face reddened in rage and her blue eyes filled with angry tears.

Booth took a step towards her, his hand outstretched as his mind raced to try and figure out how they had just gotten to this point and how in the hell he'd lost it so completely. "Bones, please, I'm -"

He was close enough that she angrily slapped his hand away, then winced simultaneously in pain from her wound. He shouldn't have tried to touch her: without meaning to he was causing her even more pain. "Leave, Booth!" she cried, her voice an almost hysterical scream; a sound he had almost never heard from her. "Get out now!"

Booth realized he couldn't look in her eyes anymore. She gave him a look of contempt and to know that it was directed at him killed him - it was even worse knowing it was his own damn fault. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. At this point, there was nothing he could do but to honor her request – it was the only way he could show her he still cared. His words were meaningless right now. Turning, he walked out of the room with his head lowered and the weight of the biggest fuck-up of his life sitting on his shoulders.

**Author's Note: **

**Poor Booth and Brennan… don't be angry at either one for too long – look at everything they've been through! They've got to fix this, don't they? Don't they? *bites nails anxiously***

**I think we're still on track for about 19 or 20 chapters. Thanks for all of those who review! You guys are awesome: I write faster because of you! :-)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

**Happy Independence Day weekend, all! (for those Americans among us, at least). You guys are so awesome with your reviews and alerts! I'm touched – really: I'm going to re-read all of them from now until Bones returns… it will help pass the long Bone-less months. *sniffs back threatening tears***

**Speaking of tears… **

**Chapter 10**

Setting down the steaming cup of coffee she had just ordered from the clerk behind the café counter, Temperance Brennan sat down at the small table and set down the latest edition of her scientific journal and took a deep breath in anticipation. Soon she would be reading about the latest discoveries and advancements in a variety of relevant scientific fields, all of which were based on empirical evidence and facts. She found the order and reasoning of it all extremely comforting, especially since she had felt overwhelmed by emotion last night when Booth had walked out of her hospital room.

She put her phone on vibrate and put it near the coffee on the table. Today Booth hadn't tried to contact her: no new text messages, voicemails… nothing. A sense of relief flooded her, although the highly irrational, emotional side of her wished she could see him again. Even as she was furious with him, she missed him – it made no sense whatsoever. Perhaps a few days of no contact could help to right the situation.

On the way home from the hospital that morning she filled in Angela on the events that had transpired. Her friend had tears in her eyes as Brennan described the attack, listened sympathetically about her argument with Booth, rubbed her growing pregnant belly and told her she should call Booth or else she was merely avoiding their issues; but it didn't matter in the least to Brennan. She was simply not equipped to deal with the fallout from their argument at the hospital: there would be no talking to Booth – not until she could compartmentalize what had transpired between them.

Her cell phone buzzed, jarring her out of her thoughts. Quickly, she picked it up, simultaneously relieved and disappointed when she saw the name on the caller ID.

_ID'd your attacker, Sylvester Rhodes. DNA matched – he killed Maggie. _

Brennan thought she'd find relief in the confirmation from Cam, but instead she felt hollow inside. Perhaps it was because she had also been a victim of this madman, although she had been fortunate to survive, thanks to Booth: Booth, who had yelled at her for trying to do the same for him. Perhaps the reason she experienced no reaction to the news was because any sense of satisfaction she would have had fled with Booth as she watched him leave the hospital room yesterday.

Damn him. Damn him for chipping away at her imperviousness until she was merely strong. Now she was susceptible to damage. Now she felt damaged.

"Bones."

Only he called her that. At the sound of his voice her head snapped up to see Booth standing in front of her table, dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket and wearing a contrite look on his face. Her lips parted slightly in surprise and instantly she moved to get up. His hand shot out with his palm down as if to calm her. "Please, don't go."

So this is why he hadn't called or texted: he was planning on ambushing her in person. Clearing her throat, she found her voice. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, keeping steady and sitting for a moment but poised to bolt like a thoroughbred racehorse at a starting gate.

"How are you feeling?" he asked instead, eyeing her injury, concern marring his handsome features.

It was wrong somehow that he looked so good while angering her so much. "Physically as well as can be expected," she replied, her nose coming up a bit.

"Can I sit for a second?"

A flash of uncertainty crossed her face. They were in public - she didn't want to make a scene but then again, she felt entirely unprepared for this conversation. She felt nervous and flustered. "For a second," she managed. "How did you find me?"

He sat, but his mouth turned into a rueful smile. "I'm an FBI agent, Bones," he reminded her gently. "I kind of do this for a living." On her un-amused expression, he added, "The doorman told me you went out. You weren't at the Royal Diner, or the Founding Fathers for that case, and this is the closest coffee shop to your home. It's a Sunday and they sell this science journal you read at the shop next door. I know you haven't renewed your subscription yet because you left it in my car by accident a few weeks ago, so I deduced you'd show up for coffee and the magazine sometime."

"I-I can't talk to you."

Booth's heart sank at the sound of hurt in her voice. "I won't stay, Bones. I just had to tell you," he leaned forward and waited until her eyes met his, "I had to tell you how sorry I am."

"Not now, Booth," she said nervously, scooting backwards as if about to jump out of her chair.

He placed his hand on top of hers, causing her to instantly still at his touch. God he had missed the simple feel of her skin against his. She stayed sitting, her eyes wide as he pulled his hand back quickly, not wanting to spook her. He dropped his head regretfully. "Listen, Bones, I have to ask for your forgiveness. I don't know what the hell possessed me yesterday at the hospital. I have no excuses. All I have is a shitload of guilt for unloading all of my fear and anger on you when all you did was save me. None of it was really directed at you," he pleaded.

There was a pause. "You above all people should know me, Booth," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "I'm not… robotic."

Booth pinched his eyes shut for a moment and opened them slowly, overwhelmed by the look of hurt in her expression. He couldn't believe what he had done: all he had ever wanted to do was keep her safe and cherished and now he had caused her pain. "Christ, Bones," he said, his own voice strained with emotion, "I'm so goddamn sorry. You have no idea how sorry. I was out of my mind with rage at that asshole and overwhelmed by the fact that I had almost lost you forever, or that you could have been raped all because I left you at that brothel. It was a colossal lapse on my part to lose my temper and I apologize for directing it at you. I want to be a better man than that." Slowly she nodded, studying his face carefully and seeing his anguish evident on his face. She remained silent, internally weighing his apparent guilt and the hurt she was still experiencing. It was as if he could see the battle within her reflected in her eyes. "There's something else, though," he added quickly, trying to take advantage of a moment where she wasn't pulling away from him. "No matter what you want from me now or in the future, I just need you to know this."

One eyebrow came up slightly as she held her breath a little. Would he tell her he loved her? Confirm what she had suspected all along? "What?" she asked in a small voice, anticipation almost making her breathless. She wanted him to say it.

He edged his chair in and leaned forward onto the table and stared into her wide blue eyes. "You, Temperance Brennan, are never a consolation prize. You could never be that for anyone, _especially_ for me. You could never know exactly how much you mean to me – how my life revolves around you and our… partnership," he stopped to clear his throat from the emotion welling up. "You're the one for me, Bones. I knew it from the beginning and I know it now. God knows I tried to deny it – tried to build my hopes for a future with Hannah. I was afraid of growing old alone, Bones. I was afraid of living without being loved."

"Booth-"

"No," he interjected, cutting her off. "This needs to be said." He took both of her limp hands resting on the table in both of his. Her eyes were glued to his. "Us – together – means everything to me. If Hannah showed up on my door tomorrow with a promise to grow old with me I still wouldn't take her back. She's not the one I love. Don't you see, Bones? You're my whole world: you and Parker. In any way you'll have me, Bones, I'm here. Always."

Breathing deeply, she slowly pulled her hands out from under his, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She wasn't ready to hear this. The memory of his chastisement of her actions still hung in between them. He was clearly remorseful, but his anger was still too fresh in her mind. She was so conflicted! "What do you want from me?" she implored.

"Tell me it's not too late, Bones. Please. I'm sorry for being such an asshole – it wasn't meant for you, honest. I wish I could go back in time and change every part of yesterday more than anything: I wish I had never let you stay in that brothel and that you hadn't had to save me and I especially wish I hadn't unloaded all of my fear and frustration on you."

Yesterday afternoon in a garden she contemplated building a life with him; a future together. Now those notions seemed so far away. What if the future held nothing but arguments like this for them? "No, Booth, don't," she implored, tears finally escaping. Her head was spinning with clashing emotions and divergences in her reasoning that she couldn't compartmentalize. "It's scientifically impossible to make time go backwards. I can't risk feeling this way again." She stood abruptly, clutching her purse to her body as if it were a shield. "If you value our partnership and the time we were together at all, please don't contact me again."

Again? Did that mean what he was afraid it meant? Panic flooded him. "Bones, don't do this. Please."

She grabbed her journal out from under his hand. "I'll ask Andrew for a leave of absence from my work with the FBI. For now – just – please leave me alone."

He shot to his feet as eyes of curious onlookers came up to witness his heartbreak. His had shot out and captured her wrist lightly. It didn't hurt but it did stop her in her tracks. "You're not leaving town, right? You're not… running?"

Brennan jerked her hand away, causing the pages to ruffle in disagreement with their harsh treatment. When her eyes met his and she saw the desperation and need in his eyes she sucked in her breath. It caused her to halt for a moment. "No," she said softly. The air between them seemed to still in anticipation. "I meant what I said the morning we parted ways after spending the night together at the brothel. I'm not going anywhere. I cannot, however, continue on in this partnership. I need you go give me space and refrain from contacting me. I need you to let me be."

Unshed tears reflected in his eyes and she saw him swallow with emotion as he nodded, oblivious to their half dozen onlookers. "Okay, Bones. Just maybe-" he broke off what he was going to say, clearly uncertain if he should finish the thought.

"Maybe what?" she inquired impatiently, desperately wanting to make her escape but hating to leave when he was wrestling with a thought.

He blew out a breath. "Maybe it would be a good idea for you to talk to Sweets? You know, about what happened yesterday?"

That idea held almost as much appeal to her as having to walk onto a stage in her lingerie. "Do you mean our argument?"

"No – yes. No," he stammered, contradicting himself and looking almost as uncomfortable as she felt. "I meant mostly about, you know, that guy attacking you. Maybe it would be a good idea."

Her face wrinkled in distain. "I am perfectly able to compartmentalize the events of yesterday," she argued. "I am not a damsel in distressed from an outdated fairytale, Booth: he was unable to finish his goal of rape and I will not live as if I am a victim. I am fine."

"You were hurt, Bones, whether or not he… he.." Oh my God, he thought – could he ever finish these horrible sentences he was trying to say? How could he have let her get hurt in the first place? Shame flooded him. "Whether or not he… finished what he started, Bones, you were attacked, so you're not fine. I just think it might help you to talk to Sweets."

"I don't want to."

"I think you should."

She could see that – despite everything – she was not going to get rid of him until she conceded to his wish. Only Booth would worry about her enough to continue to push a point in an argument even when she'd essentially dismissed their partnership and everything they'd built these past six years. While it was true he was standing in front of her, looking uncomfortable and awkward, she also recognized in his expression his steely determination to hold his ground in an argument. If she didn't give in, she was certain he'd go to Sweets and Cam. "Fine," she snapped, trying to quell the tiny flare of relief she felt internally at the thought of actually talking about what happened. Even though she did not believe psychology to be a relevant or valid scientific field, a small part of her suspected she would find it slightly reassuring to talk to the young doctor about the events of the day before: it was certainly better than talking to Booth about it. She could hardly look at him now as it was. "I will set up a few times to meet with him about this matter. Satisfied?"

He nodded, looking a little relieved even as his face was filled with distinct emotional pain. "Yes, absolutely, Bones. I'm glad. And just know, when you want to talk again, I'll be here."

She shook her head, avoiding eye contact. "I think you are mistaken, Booth. I don't predict a point in the near future when I can reasonably anticipate resuming our partnership."

Oh my God: his heart hit the floor. He had made it worse – he was pushing her away when all he wanted to do was convince her of how sorry he was, how much he loved her and how much she was a part of his life. For the second time in two days he thought he was losing her completely. "Don't decide anything yet, okay, Bones?" he asked, not caring that he was clearly pleading with her: he couldn't help it. The indication that she didn't want to work with him anymore sent him into sheer panic-mode and sent is alpha-male possessive side into overdrive with the desire to grab her and keep her right by him, always. He took a step towards her, his chest within inches of hers without touching her. The atmosphere around them became heightened and he knew – even though she wouldn't look directly at him – she felt the electricity between them. His heart was thudding in his chest as he watched her tongue dance across her lips and her breath become shallow. He was having an effect on her.

After a moment, tear-filled blue eyes came up to find his. He knew she had found her last ounce of resolve and was about to use it. "Don't contact me, Booth. Leave me alone… please."

He forced himself to nod, even though he wanted to argue."Okay, Bones." She took a step back from him. "And," he rushed to add, "Thank you."

Her brow furrowed as she took another step back. "Thank you?"

Booth gave her a sad half-smile. "Thank you for saving me. I wish I had been worth it."

She wanted to tell him he was still worth the injury and even the heartbreak and he always would be. She wanted to tell him that despite everything they had gone through she'd still do anything for him anytime he needed her. She wanted to tell him she didn't want to be without him and couldn't imagine the coming days and weeks and years without him. She wanted to tell him she loved him.

Instead, Temperance Brennan bit her quivering lip, nodded her head to her partner, then turned and fled from the coffee shop.

**Author's Note:**

**Don't worry, everyone! I promised B&B lovin' and a happy ending and I will deliver. That doesn't mean I can't have my angsty-fun along the way... ;-) Speaking of which, I will be on vacation so it will probably be several days until I update again. I absolutely promise not to be gone too long: I will finish it no matter what. I'm loving this story (not to brag) - it makes the pregnancy make more sense to me. Have a safe and happy weekend!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:**

**Shhh... don't tell my family... I found a computer with Internet on vacation! What's the first thing to do? Why, upload a new chapter for you!**

**Chapter 11**

In the days that followed, Booth abided by her request, much to her relief and simultaneous disappointment. Brennan buried herself in work and mostly in Limbo, categorizing and identifying bones for hours on end. There was peacefulness in the discipline of the work that helped to keep musings about a certain handsome FBI agent at bay or guilt for not assisting the FBI from creeping into her thoughts: well, for the most part.

Very carefully she watched her wording regarding Booth when she met with Sweets, as she had promised. The young doctor was sympathetic and analytical in his approach to talking with her about the attack, which she found to be quite helpful (though she would not admit that aloud to him). His calm objectivity in coaxing her to speak about near-rape did indeed assist her, although she was not sure exactly how or why that was. The worst moments, she discovered, was trying to recount for Sweets Booth's actions: she tried valiantly to leave her feelings out of the equation, despite a few pointed questions from him that she knew were designed to illicit an emotional response.

She never told him what she and Booth had talked about in the room that night, either.

The Jeffersonian team stopped asking her about him and their fractured partnership after the first day or two when she refused to answer and shot angry looks at them. Even Angela gave up asking why the two of them had stopped talking – at least for the time being. Brennan had the feeling her friend was waiting for the right opportunity to confront her one last time about what had transpired since their undercover mission. Therefore, she had even been avoiding a very pregnant Angela.

On Wednesday, a mere four days after her attack at the brothel, Brennan's phone rang. When she saw "FBI" come up on her Caller ID, her heart skipped a beat. Would Booth be on the other end of the phone?

She accepted the call. "Brennan."

"Dr. Brennan?" came the deep male voice on the other end. "This is Agent Capra. Trey – from Agent Booth's team. How are you today?"

The image of the handsome African American agent came to mind at the same time Brennan blushed, recalling the way he had been present at her 'inspection' by Geraldine at the brothel: it wasn't a moment she cared to re-live. "Fine, thank you." She replied politely. "My injury is healing quickly and the scraping is almost unnoticeable. What can I do for you, Agent Capra?"

"Trey, please. I was wondering if we could meet for dinner tonight."

She appreciated he came right to the point. "Um, I suppose. I assume you are aware that I am not partnered with Agent Booth or the FBI at this time?"

"Yes, Dr. Brennan. I was glad we had the opportunity to work the case together and I was hoping we might spend some time together." He paused for a moment. "We can even review the case since Caroline Julian is going to be prosecuting Geraldine Junker if you'd like."

Brennan found herself nodded to no one in particular even as she sat at her desk with case files in front of her. "Yes, Agent – I mean, Trey. It makes sense since you will need a debriefing of what transpired for your records." It was usually something she had Booth took care of over beers and take out Thai food at one of their apartments after a case. Quickly, she shut out the memory. "I can meet you at seven p.m. at Palumbo's." It was a restaurant she and Booth had not gone to together. She had always wanted to go there, though: the two of them hadn't gotten around to it yet. Stop thinking about Booth! she mentally chastised herself. It wasn't like it would alter their circumstances for the better. "Would that suffice?"

"Certainly. See you then, Dr. Brennan." He sounded satisfied with her response.

"You may call me Temperance," she offered, pleased that the FBI was choosing to follow up with her by enlisting a familiar agent to walk her through the case and honoring her wish to remain distant from Booth for the time being. "See you then." She clicked off the phone after he said his goodbyes.

Looking around her desk, she extracted Maggie O'Malley's case file from her drawer, then started to gather together some of her notes from the case. She had very minimal notes this time and as Brennan looked at the pages, she knew why: too much had happened that had nothing to do with the case and everything to do with her partner. This case had cost her the center of life these past six years.

Brennan shoved the papers into her bag. It was time to put this case behind her.

-X-

The first half of their dinner, Brennan and Trey reviewed the case. It was quite baffling to Brennan why Trey was seemingly taken by surprise when she took the files out after the waiter took their drink orders; nonetheless, he adjusted quickly and walked her through the events of those fateful two days. Carefully, she left out the hours she'd spent with Booth and the conversations that had transpired.

"I think that does it, Temperance," Trey commented after forty minutes of review. "I know Caroline Julian has the forensic report on Ms. O'Malley that you sent her already, but I will pass along your notes to her."

"Thank you."

"Can I ask you something?" he inquired after a moment's pause.

"Certainly," she returned, setting down her wine glass.

His dark brown eyes met hers. "Were you under the impression I asked you out to dinner simply to review the case?"

Brennan frowned a bit and mentally reviewed their conversation on the phone. He mentioned dinner, the case…"Yes. Was there another purpose?"

Trey looked down with a smile on his face even as he shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah. I was asking you out on a date," he said, looking back up at her with the smile intact.

Suddenly, her obliviousness became clear. She had clearly misread his intent for dinner – how could she have done that? Why hadn't the thought occurred to her? She was an extremely intelligent, beautiful woman – so why had it never crossed her mind that this agent found her physically appealing and a prospective sexual partner? "Oh." How did she even want to respond to that?

"I should have been more forthright."

Brennan's brow furrowed. "No," she responded slowly. "I normally do not mistake overtures for potential sexual encounters with the opposite sex. I apologize for not picking up on your advances." He was quite attractive, she realized, studying his strong jaw line and prominent zygomatic features. He was also kind, dedicated to the pursuit of justice and very physically fit. So why was she so hesitant to even entertain the idea of any sort of romantic encounter with him?

He looked at her carefully. After a moment, he asked, "You're not interested in a relationship of any kind right now, are you?"

Helplessly, relief flooded her and she was grateful Trey was almost as perceptive as Booth in gauging her reactions. Her shoulders came down a bit. "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I do find you quite physically appealing and amiable, so I believe you would make for a very satisfying sexual partner: just not for me." Booth. The one for her was Booth. Just like that, the realization flashed across her thoughts and she felt her heart skip a beat. Somehow, it was as if she had known it all along, but for that brief moment she allowed herself to entertain the truth of how she felt. How she wished he were the one sitting across from her right now! How she wished she hadn't pushed him away when he had found her at the coffee shop! She had to offer Trey more of an explanation. "I am not currently looking for intimacy with anyone."

The look he gave her was very knowing and pointed, although he did not seem angry. "It's Agent Booth, isn't it?"

Sometimes the perceptiveness was irksome. "I -" What was she going to say? Should she deny it? Should she pretend once again that she didn't love him – at least not in the all consuming way she felt? What good would come of that now? "Yes," she admitted, surprising even herself, her eyes looking down to the table but seeing nothing, really. "He's more than just my professional partner to me."

"You love him."

Hearing it said aloud was foreign but oddly, perfectly true, she realized. Her eyes came up to meet Trey's gaze and she saw that he was smiling regretfully. Everyone – even Trey – knew the truth. Booth had become such a part of her life that she couldn't imagine any part of it without him. He was the only one she wanted to be with, in every way. "I do."

Trey saw the regret on her face and knew she was afraid of hurting him. More importantly, though, he saw in front of him a woman filled with conflict but absolutely convinced of her feelings for his fellow agent. "It's okay, Temperance," he said kindly. "I figured as much when I met the two of you, but when you stopped working together I thought I'd ask anyway. I knew I was a long shot."

She was perplexed. "I don't know what that means. Are you suggesting the use of a firearm?"

That earned her a chuckle from the man sitting across from her. "It means that it would be highly improbable you would want to date me," he explained with a smile.

"If Booth and I hadn't -"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "That's not necessary, but thanks, though. The heart wants who the heart wants."

It sounded like thin psychological nonsense to her, but Brennan knew she needed to talk to Booth so she let his statement go. She wanted to run to Booth right now and tell her she accepted his apology: that she wanted things back to the way they were. That she needed him. "I have to go," she said quickly, standing up. "I should talk with Agent Booth."

Trey stood up with her. "Sure. I think he's working late tonight and I have to go back for some case files. I know you took a cab here, so do you want a ride back to headquarters?"

She was touched by his thoughtfulness and the graciousness he showed after her rejection. He really was a kind man. "Yes, I would appreciate that, thank you." Anticipation bubbled inside her, much like it did when ancient remains found their way to her examination table. This time, though, the stirring within her had nothing to do with the past and everything to do with her future.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**

**A character we haven't seen in awhile makes an appearance – what will it mean for Booth and Brennan?**

**Chapter 12**

The offices were only dimly lit as Seeley Booth sat behind his desk, resting his chin on his folded fingers, his elbows on the arm rests of his chair as he stared straight at the wall but seeing nothing. He was the only one left in this part of the building and he was grateful for the solitude. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he had work to do, leads to follow up on, calls to make, but he couldn't help it: he felt numb. He was moving through his days directionless without Bones beside him. Nothing seemed to matter – he felt as if his whole world had turned into shades of gray.

There was no one to blame but himself. He had fucked up everything, from leaving her alone in the first place at that brothel to not saving her from getting shot to yelling at her in the hospital. The worse part, though, was knowing how close they were getting that night they spent together. It was painful to realize how close they had become to each other – how they had finally been moving to a shared understanding of what they meant to each other.

And now he was living every day alone without her.

He should go to her apartment and knock on the door and not stop until she opened up for him. He should make her talk to him. He was torn between tracking her down again and wrapping his arms around her and never letting her go, or giving her a piece of his mind for putting their partnership on hold and keeping him paralyzed in this living hell without her. Neither was an option, though, he thought sadly. He had to respect her wishes. He wanted to give her what she needed from him, even if it was nothing at all.

"Seeley."

At the sound of his name his head snapped around to see who had joined him. Rebecca stood there, her long blond hair hanging down, her oversized purse at her side and a concerned look on her face. His feet dropped from the desk to the floor as he sprang up from his chair. "Rebecca, hi," he greeted, knowing he wore a look of surprise on his face. "Is everything okay? Is Parker with you?"

She shook her head. "No, he's at a friend's tonight, although I do want to ask you about taking him for a couple of extra days. Mostly, though, I'm here because I was worried about you."

He was relieved Parker was alright, but confusion filled him. "What? Why?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "I tried calling your cell five times in the past three hours. I called the doorman of your building and he said you hadn't come back to the apartment yet… and I know about you and Dr. Brennan," she admitted. "So I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Booth suppressed a sigh. He supposed at some point the word would get around that their partnership was over. When he had talked to Parker on the phone yesterday he had to admit to his son that he and Bones weren't working together – Parker had asked when he was going to see her again, so he had to tell his son the truth (at least to some extent). "I'm fine, Rebecca, thanks," he returned, coming around to the front of his desk and leaning against it. She took a few steps towards him.

A quick glance at the sadness in his eyes spoke volumes, Rebecca thought. This man she had come to love as a parent to her son was in more pain than she had ever seen him and it scared her. "What happened, Seeley?" she couldn't help but ask, her concern evident.

His lips pursed thoughtfully as his strong arms clutched the desk at his sides. His knuckles were white from gripping it so tightly even as he fought to get the painful truth out of his mouth: it was still hard to vocalize the loss he felt. "I fucked up royally, Rebecca," he said finally. He told her briefly about the case, Brennan's act of heroism that fateful day, his meltdown at the hospital and even their run-in at the coffee shop. "She doesn't want to be my partner anymore," he concluded quietly, "and I can't blame her. All I can do is respect her wishes and give her the space from me that she needs, even if it is forever."

Rebecca watched him carefully while he spoke, but when she finished she came over and placed a light hand on his shoulder. "Seeley, she needs to know the truth."

Brown eyes searched her blue ones. "What do you mean?"

"Tell her you love her."

He sucked in his breath. Clearly it was no secret how head over heels he was for the stunning forensic anthropologist. What Rebecca said was exactly what he wanted to tell Bones and everything that he couldn't go through again. There was no way he could stand her pushing him away again. "I can't do that, Rebecca. I already…" he tried to recall what he had said, "I already told her she means everything to me and that she and Parker were my whole world. I told her I was hers forever." His voice broke, so he tried to clear his throat to cover it up.

"Good: that was a start at least. Now, go and tell her you love her."

Booth shook his head. "Don't you see, Rebecca? It wouldn't make a difference. I can tell Bones every hour of the day that I love her, that I she means the world to me, that I'd die for her, but she has to _believe _it. She has to be the one willing to let me in." Christ, he realized with disappointment, he was crying. Two tears had escaped before he could rein them in. He knew Rebecca meant well, but things were never simple between he and Bones, and he doubted that they ever would be. If only she wanted him the way he wanted her…

"Then somehow, some way, you have to make her realize that, Seeley," she said gently. "From everything I know about Dr. Brennan, I imagine she's afraid to take that chance with you because she's scared of everything you're offering. Give her the choice. Let her know what you're willing to give and let the cards fall where they may."

The corner of his mouth lifted as he blinked away the remaining unshed tears. "A gambling metaphor, really?" Rebecca was no stranger to the darker sides of his past, including the former gambling addiction. She did know him so well – maybe she was right. Maybe he needed to make it clear to Bones one last time and let her decide what she wanted from him. Maybe if he ever saw her again, he would do just that. One thing was certain, though: he was going to respect her request for time away from him if it killed him. It was the last thing he could do for her.

She returned the smile and shrugged lightly. "You're a big boy. I think you can handle it."

He gave her a small, rueful smile. "You said you needed me to take Parker a few extra days?" It was time to change the subject. He wanted to focus on the last remaining bright light in his life and not the tornado of emotions he felt for his former partner.

"Yeah." She looked up at him as he stood up from leaning against the desk. "Can you take him two days longer than we were planning? My sister won a trip on a Caribbean cruise and she wants to take me along as a guest. Would that work for you?"

Quickly, he mentally flipped through the items he recalled on his calendar. "Sure. I think that would be fine," he said quickly, excited to think about spending the time with his son. "I have a gala event Friday night that's mandatory, but it's before he comes over anyway and everything else I could work around. If Hodgins and Angela have their baby early he can sit with me in the hospital or I could call the sitter, so yes, it's not a problem – I'm glad to have him."

Rebecca smiled at the father of her son. "I figured you would be." Moving in, she drew him into a comforting hug. It took a moment, but she felt his strong arms encircle her to hold her close and gratitude flooded her. They may not have ever been really in love, but she was amazingly grateful to count him as one of her dearest friends: there was no one she trusted more than Seeley Booth and no one who could have ever been a better father to her child. "Don't lose hope, Seeley," she said gently into his ear as they held each other close. "Temperance loves you."

There was nothing he could say, he realized as he buried his face in her long blond hair, appreciative for a moment to simply hold onto someone, even if it wasn't Bones. He just didn't know if what she said was true but, by God, he wished it were. He'd do anything to know what it felt like to be the love of Temperance Brennan's life.

-X-

The elevator doors slid open to reveal a dimly lit floor of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters. Everything seemed so silent and still – it was quite different than the hustle and bustle of a normal visiting day, Brennan realized. "Thank you again for the ride," she said to Trey as they exited and entered the hallway.

"Absolutely," he said casually, his hands in his pockets. "I know Agent Booth will be glad to see you; he's been pretty out of sorts these past three days."

Her eyes remained trained on her destination but her brow furrowed. "Does that mean his behavior has deviated from his normal affable, professional and charismatic tendencies?"

She heard Trey snort in amusement to her question, but suddenly every trace of mirth was sucked out of her environment as she stopped in her tracks. It couldn't be. As the world seemed to stop around her, her horrified eyes remained locked and frozen on the sight across the expanse of desks and walls, through the glass of Booth's office.

Booth stood in front of his desk, his arms wrapped around her and his head buried in her hair. He looked safe. He looked content. She wanted to die.

"Who's the blonde?" Trey asked quietly, his brown eyes now trained also on the tender scene they were witnessing. He'd stopped next to her but couldn't bring himself to look at her.

It was her worst fears standing before her. He had gone back to the woman he'd chosen over her once before: she had lost her last chance to be the one he loved. Trey had asked a question - she had to respond. "Hhh-"no, she couldn't even bring herself to say her name. The woman she had tried to be friends with to keep Booth in her life had now taken him back. There would be no going back to Booth now - not ever. "Sss-she's his ex-girlfriend." Her voice quivered, filled with anguish. "She's the one he proposed to."

Trey shook his head. "Yikes." After a moment he added, "It may not be what you think."

The evidence was right there, she realized. How could he have said all of those wonderful things to her and still have gone back into the arms of another woman? How could their six years together have lead to this torment? Why had she ever let herself entertain the hope that they could be happy together indefinitely? Turning around quickly, she marched back to the elevators.

"Temperance, let me take you home," Trey offered, following on her heels.

Angrily, she jabbed at the elevator button, missing it the first few times because she couldn't see it through a veil of tears. "No." she snapped.

"You should still talk to Agent Booth. He honestly has been closed off these past days."

It felt like an eternity until the elevator arrived: if Booth's office hadn't been up so high she would have run down the stairs by now. Turning on her heel she spun to face the man unintentionally accompanying her through these moments of hell. "This is none of your business," she hissed, his face blurry through her tears. How humiliating to have him witness the worst moment of her life. "Booth doesn't want me. He doesn't need me." Her voice caught raggedly. The elevator dinged upon its arrival and as the doors open she shot through them. Trey jumped in beside her. "I'm through with him," she said, watching the doors close on her past, "the way he is with me."

Perhaps she had never been the love of his life after all.

**Author's Note**:

**Let me know what you think, pretty please with cherries on top? ***_**shamelessly plugs for reviews***_** We're over halfway there! And don't worry - I promised a happy ending (and B&B lovin') and I will deliver! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Author's Note:**

**Sooo… I'm getting a feeling the angst is getting to be too much? **_***ducks the flying tomatoes***_** I should be renamed Regina DRAMA Phalange, I know. To answer a review (that seriously made me laugh!) Booth and Brennan will get their "crap" together very soon. I promise. **

**A shorter chapter I know - the best is still on its way!**

Temperance Brennan didn't sleep more than twenty minutes at a time that night. Tossing and turning, the horrifying memory of the man she loved in someone else's arms denied her of any real sleep – instead, any time she dozed off she dreamed of losing him in some way or another. She felt tormented.

For the first time ever, unable to face her friends, coworkers or even the realm of reason she usually wrapped herself in, she called in sick to work. There was no way she would be able to give the bones on her table the undivided attention they deserved when her thoughts continuously strayed back to what had transpired between she and Booth the past days... well, ever since Vincent's death last week, actually.

It was ten thirty in the morning by the time she had finally emerged from her bedroom, bleary-eyed and exhausted and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She was entirely at a loss for what to do with her day, but she really didn't care. Right now, even leaving her apartment seemed highly improbable: there was nothing for her outside of that door until she could compartmentalize and make sense of the emotions spiraling out of control within her.

Setting down the glass of orange juice she was forcing herself to drink, Brennan reached over the counter in her kitchen and grabbed her ringing cell phone. When she saw the Caller ID indicate the FBI was calling, she was tempted to not answer at all. What if it were Booth? What would he say? What should she do? She opened her phone and answered before she gave it another thought and anticipated the sound of Booth's voice. "Brennan."

"Temperance?" It was Trey. She simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief even as a twinge of disappointment flared that it was not Booth. "I wanted to see how you were doing today."

Why couldn't people just leave her alone in her misery? "Oh, um," it was a question she had no idea how to answer. "Adequately, I suppose," she responded lamely, embarrassed by the way she had conducted herself the night before. Where had the rational, reasonable scientist within her disappeared to?

"Last night was rough," he said, the concern for her evident in his voice.

"Yes, well," she sniffed, "I was unprepared for the events to transpire the way they did. I apologize for being short with you and for – for my outburst."

"There's no need to apologize, Tempe," he said quickly. "I just wanted to see how you were doing at to, hopefully, offer you an opportunity that might distract you for awhile."

He piqued her curiosity. "What opportunity?"

"There's a FBI Gala this Friday night that all officers in the D.C. office are required to attend. There will be several influential people from the White House attending, as well as other dignitaries and political leaders. I found out this morning that the Ambassador from Uruguay will be there, and – as I'm sure you know – recently they've unearthed a human skeleton dating back thousands of years."

"Yes!" she said quickly, her excitement building as she thought back to the article she read in the latest issue of her scientific journal. She tried hard to push away the memory of grabbing the journal from Booth's hand a few days ago at the coffee shop. She couldn't bear the memory of the hurt in his eyes or the sadness in his voice… she thought about the skeleton. "I have read about the discovery! They're looking for a team to study it in Uruguay."

"Exactly. That's why I thought you might want to accompany me tomorrow night to the gala: you can talk personally with the Ambassador and let him know if you're interested in being on the team. At the very least, you can learn more about the discovery."

It made sense, Brennan thought, although she couldn't identify why in that moment she felt apprehensive about the thought of leaving for Uruguay. It wasn't as if she had anything to stay for now anyway – Hodgins and Angela had each other and a baby on the way, Cam had Michelle, Booth had Hannah. She had no one. "I don't know," she said cautiously. A week ago her favorite intern had taken a bullet in his heart. Five days ago she had watched Booth walk away in the dark, early hours of the morning after they had slept together and that day she'd spent the night in a hospital. Was she really ready to go to another country? She should at least stay until Angela and Hodgins' baby was born.

"It's entirely up to you," he replied. After a moment's pause, he added, "I don't know if Agent Booth will be there or not."

That was _exactly_ what she had really been wondering. She didn't know what she would do then they offered her the position to head up the dig in Uruguay – after all, why wouldn't they want the best in the world? – but right now she didn't know if she could handle seeing Booth in his tuxedo with Hannah on his arm. Happy - without her. "If he's there or if he isn't, don't let that factor into your decision, Tempe," Trey continued. "Do whatever you think is best."

"It wouldn't be a date in the traditional sense, would it?" she asked, careful now not to mistake his intentions. She had been oblivious in the past and didn't want to repeat that mistake. "I can guarantee there would be no sexual intercourse between us at the conclusion of the evening."

His laugh was a warm rumble. "No, we can just go as friends. I'm not in the habit of hitting on women once I know they're in love with someone else."

She was in love with Booth: he was the center of the world they had somehow created together… no wonder she felt lost in an emotional wilderness void of all reason and understanding. If she went to the Gala, he could potentially be there. "It would be most informative to talk to the Ambassador," she hedged.

"And you wouldn't be going alone. You'd be there with me."

That was true, she thought. She could try and show Booth she was moving on, too. If he could so easily dismiss what he had said to her after such short a time, she could use Trey as her escort and pretend as if her world wasn't collapsing around her. More than the need to make him jealous, though, she realized she just very much wanted to see him again; to be near him again. All of these days without him had made her existence so overwhelmingly irrational and lonely. Perhaps seeing him in person one last time would help to quell the doubts in her heart that she had done the right thing by not giving into her emotions and letting herself really believe in a prospect of forever with a man who could go back to another woman.

"Alright," she said. "I'll go with you. Thank you for the invitation."

**Author's Note:**

**Coming up in Chapter 14: Booth. Brennan. A Gala. Looks of longing. Words exchanged…**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Looking around the ballroom with all of its lights, glitter and frivolity, Booth and all of the pain he carried felt entirely out of place. Life had been moving at a snail's pace since she had left him standing alone in the coffee shop, leaving a wake of pain, guilt and regret behind them and between them. Life had been meaningless since he'd watched her go.

His day had been spent working on following leads for open cases other agents were working on. He'd requested a break from direct case assignments for the time being, unwilling to try to force Cam, Angela and Hodgins into helping him solve it without Brennan's involvement. Or perhaps he was simply reluctant to face the reality that his partnership with Bones was through. Either way, he couldn't walk through the doors of the Jeffersonian without breaking down into tears or bursting into Bones' office to beg her to come back, so his distance from her was the only option. He was going to do his damndest to respect her wishes.

So here he was, forced into a black tie work function he would've brought Bones to, not really believing it was only one week ago he was bidding on a nearly-naked Bones in a brothel, wishing futilely she was here beside him right now and that horrible evening in the hospital could be erased from history. He took a sip of champagne and resisted the urge to check his watch for the time to see if it had passed any faster until he could make an appropriately early exit. All around him people were dressed in beautiful gowns, tuxedos and military dress uniforms, laughing and dancing: if there was one thing Washington D.C. knew how to do, it was throw a party. It was all too much, so he walked out onto a patio alongside the ballroom of the hotel. White lights hung in the topiary trees that separated the hotel from the city road, illuminated by streetlights reflecting the fresh rain on the wet pavement in the damp, heavy air. There were only a few people along the length of the patio, talking with each other and oblivious to his world falling down around him.

Booth was too tired to be here. He hadn't had a decent night's sleep since Bones had been shot and horrifying nightmares had plagued him – every night he saw a door crash open to the sight of Bones being beaten by the ponytail guy, Sylvester Rhodes. Every night he felt the sting of his blows and every night he heard that earth shattering cry from Bones and watched as she took a bullet meant for him. Every night he felt his heart stop as he saw her lying in a pool of blood while he felt frozen in shock, helpless to stop it from happening. Some nights he woke up screaming hoarsely; other nights he awoke sobbing and bereft, always having reminding himself that she was alive. She wasn't with him and he might never see her again, but she was alive.

He missed her terribly.

They had been so close - it had been tangible to him. The reality that they had been headed to an honest-to-God relationship had been made absolutely clear that night in the brothel when he had told her what he hoped for with her; a love affair that was all consuming. She had been okay with that – to him she had even looked a little enthusiastic about the idea. They had understood each other. Then he had to go and unbelievably fuck it up. He was hopeless.

"Booth."

He heard her soft voice before he saw her and he felt a shiver run down his spine. He turned to see Bones standing right beside him, calmly looking up at him with wide, vulnerable blue eyes; her hands were nervously clenched in front of her and her hair was piled loosely back at the nape of her neck. But her dress… it took his breath away.

Bones was wearing a dark purple, silk gown which fell to the ground like a waterfall, with a slit up the side all of the way to her mid-thigh. The front was a halter-style, with a V running deeply between the valley of her breasts, exposing a tasteful yet tantalizing amount of skin – there was no way in hell she was wearing any sort of bra or bustier. His mouth went dry. God, there would never be a time he didn't want her with every fiber of his being.

"Bones." It hit him all at once and everything he wanted to say seemed to fall away. All of the emotions and everything they had gone through together hung in the humid evening air between them. God knew he couldn't look at the small white bandage on her upper arm from the bullet wound. It made him think of that sad, broken bra strap. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from her, desperate not to let her see the tears that formed in his eyes. He was moments away from breaking down and crying and he had no idea why. All he knew was that she looked so beautiful it overwhelmed him. She was so unattainable even now it killed him.

"How have you been?" she asked gently, her gaze analyzing him as if he were bones on her examination table.

"I, um…" The question couldn't have been more loaded. How was he? Horrible. Miserable. Hurt. Overwhelmed with self-loathing. Un-fucking-fantastic. He couldn't tell her that, though: he wasn't going to unload anymore of his hurt or fear on her again. He didn't trust what was going to come out of his mouth or risk driving her away again. "Managing," he muttered instead.

Brennan nodded slowly, as if considering the word. "As am I."

Booth glanced around the patio as music drifted in from the open French doors. "I'm surprised to see you here at a Bureau function."

"I would have told you-" she began, then realized she didn't have an end to that sentence because it would have been a lie. She hadn't wanted him to know she had come because she'd wanted to see if he would be here, or if he would be here with Hannah. She had wanted to ambush him as he had done to her at the coffee shop.

With a wave of his hand Booth interrupted her. "No, it's okay, Bones. No explanations necessary. I'm just," he took a deep breath, "I'm just glad to see you again."

The sincerity in his warm brown eyes melted her; slowly she felt her resolve to be strong and her jealousy of his resumed relationship with Hannah wear down. He had looked about to cry when he saw her and now – now he looked at her with such devotion it was overwhelming. She had to look away. "I am… pleased to know you are alright."

A half-rueful smile formed on his lips. "I'm actually far from alright Bones, but thanks anyway."

Concern flashed across her face. Booth looked in perfect health, but what if something was wrong? Had his brain tumor re-formed? "Is something wrong? Is Parker alright?"

He gave her a quick nod to reassure her. It was strange, he realized, not being completely current on what was going on in each other's lives. Normally he knew everything she was going through – times she was seeing her father, hearing her get a call from Russ or what chapter she was writing in her book. Now they were oblivious to all the daily details in each other's lives. "Parker's fine, Bones. Technically I'm in perfect health." He took a deep breath and let the cards fall where they may. "I am, however, entirely miserable without you."

Just like that they were back to where they had been that day in the coffee shop and – just like that – the sense of loneliness she had been trying to quell came rising to the surface. Confusion filled her: he didn't look like a man recently reunited with a former lover. He looked at her as if she were the last ray of light in his world of darkness. She couldn't be hurt again, though - she just couldn't. Nervously, she wrung her fingers. "Booth-"

He was too afraid to hear what she was going to say and God knew he didn't want to push her away again, so he cut her off. "It's okay, Bones. You don't have to say anything. I just needed you to know I'll forever be sorry for the pain I've caused you. I just – I just need you to know how much I miss you." It was possibly the biggest understatement of his life, but he let it go at that. She looked ready to bolt again as it was so he didn't want to push his luck.

"I miss you too."

Four little words had his heart beating faster and hope lightly bubbling inside him. The way she had said it, so simply and unassumingly, moved him. "Really?"

Brennan looked at him quizzically. "Yes, really. You are extremely important to me, Booth. Naturally I have more than noticed your absence and the change in my daily routine even though it's only been a few days. My life has been," she paused, wanting to say how incomplete she felt without him, how empty. A slight chill ran down her spine when the breeze picked up. Instead she said simply, "altered."

"Mine, too," he agreed.

Her chin came up a little bit. "I do not like it." She spoke the words before she realized what she had said, but made no attempt to retract it. It was the truth.

"I don't either, Bones."

He wasn't pushing her, she realized. He had made no movement to get closer to her, nor touched her in any way since she'd approached him. He was trying to give her the space she had asked for and that fact alone touched her deeply. Her hurt at the episode in the hospital had dissipated not long after the conversation at the coffee house when she had witnessed firsthand the guilt he carried after his outburst, so why were they still here with all of this hurt between them? Why could she not open her mouth to tell him how much she loved him? How much she needed him? She felt her stoic resolve begin to crumble under his gaze.

Booth watched the conflict play out across her features as Bones looked at him. She certainly _appeared _to be as tormented as he was by this stalemate between them: would there ever come a day when she would choose him? Was he a hopeless fool for her? He thought of Rebecca's advice to simply tell the truth. All he could offer her was the truth, and though it might be the final chapter in their partnership, it was time for all or nothing. She wasn't with him anymore – at this point he had nothing left to lose. "Temperance Brennan, come here." His voice was quiet and even and full of authority.

Brennan drew in a breath at the use of her full name on his lips and the command in his voice, so unusual sounding: so strangely erotic to hear. Without hesitation she took a step closer to him until she stood right in front of him, her breasts inches from his wall of a chest decked out in his tuxedo, her blue eyes glued to his as she felt her arousal growing simply by being near him. He had such an effect on her it was astonishing.

Lightly trailing his left hand down the length of her arm to her hand he put his fingers over hers to hold her hand, watching goose bumps lightly dot her flesh at his touch. Booth drew a deep breath at the openness of her gaze, finally putting to words what had been in his heart all along. "I love you, Temperance Brennan. For the rest of my life every day of my life I will love you. I want you in any way you'll have me, but more than that, Bones, I want you to be happy. I will do – or be – anything you need of me in order to make that happen." He could see she was holding her breath with every word he spoke, her eyes wide and shiny with unshed tears. "If you want to be a couple with me, if you wanted to remain work partners only, if you wanted to be friends only, indifferent acquaintances whose only contact are Christmas cards once a year, if you want to never see me again, I will do that for you and be content for the rest of my life doing so. Do you understand, Bones?" He felt desperate. He watched as a tear escaped and rolled quietly down her cheek. He tried not to let go of the tears stinging his own eyes: he knew full well what he was doing and how much it was going to kill him if she left him now. "I'm yours; in whatever way you want me."

Helplessly tears escaped as her heart inexplicably it felt like it had burst wide open, even though she knew it to be scientifically impossible. Her lips parted in awe. This was what she had hoped for all along: this was the love she felt she didn't deserve but he offered to her nonetheless. His devotion moved her more than anything she had ever known before. "Booth…" she managed, swallowing the lump in her throat as her fingers tightened around his.

"There you are," she heard from behind her. Immediately, Booth's heated brown eyes snapped from hers to the person behind her, breaking the hypnosis she had felt under his gaze. Her eyes fluttered, then quickly she wiped her cheek as she tried to regain her sense of control. She even felt the loss of his body heat as he stepped back in surprise at the interruption. She had known the voice right away and felt a flare of anger at herself for forgetting a hugely important detail she should have shared with Booth immediately when she saw him. "I've been looking for you."

Booth recovered faster even as she saw surprise, then alarm, flicker briefly across his face before it disappeared behind a passive expression. "Trey," he said, holding out his hand to his fellow agent.

Trey shook it with a smile, then turned to her. "Temperance," he began. The rest of the words died on his lips when he saw her teary expression. "Are you alright?" he asked quickly, looking at her, then to Booth, then back to her again.

"Yes, of course," she replied dismissively, shrugging her shoulders to try and distract from the blatant lie. "Agent Booth and I were just catching up since I haven't been at the Bureau this past week." It sounded ridiculous, even to her.

He looked at her carefully, then slowly nodded. "Okay," he said carefully. "I'm, um, sorry to interrupt but it turns out the Ambassador from Uruguay is here tonight, like I thought. I know you wanted to speak with him about the skeletal remains found near Treinta y Tres."

"Oh." That was right: she _had _wanted to speak with him about possibly working on the dig in his country. It had been another reason she had come tonight. Now she didn't care if she talked to him at all. "Thank you for informing me."

"No problem," he responded, then turned to stand next to her to face Booth. The pose appeared…possessive. Brennan knew Trey knew he had interrupted an emotional conversation: he probably didn't want to see her upset again as she had been that night they had seen Booth at the field office with Hannah. "How are you tonight, Booth?"

"Fine," he responded, a bit briskly – at least it was to Brennan. She could see by the way he lifted his head and his eyes narrowed that he was upset.

"Good." Trey put his hand on the small of her back and it was as if she could see Booth's temper flare in his seemingly stoic face, however, after all this time Brennan knew how to really read his reaction: he looked a little flushed but his eyes flashed. He was royally, royally pissed. "I don't mean to steal your partner away or anything, I just wanted her to have the chance to meet the Ambassador so she can angle for a place on that dig."

She wanted Trey to stop talking now! She took a small step towards Booth to displace Trey's hand but it stayed where it was. Booth was trying not to look at it and he wasn't saying anything, but she knew by the clenching of his jaw and the dark fury in his eyes that he knew they had come together: what had seemed like a good idea at the time was now a horrible mistake.

Booth's dark steely eyes met Trey's. "It's not a problem. She's not my partner anymore anyway," he retorted evenly. He gave her a sideways glance as she felt like she had been hit with a substantial weapon in the upper torso.

"Booth," she began. Would she ever be able to say more than just his name?

"It was good catching up with you tonight, Bones," he interrupted, unwilling to hear anything she had to say. "I'm sure you'll get the chance to go to Uruguay: they'll want the best. I hope you and Trey enjoy the rest of the evening. Trey," he said with a nod of the head, "see you at work next week."

Just like that he began to move away towards the doors that lead inside and Brennan felt her arm shoot out to grab his. She grabbed a fistful of his tuxedo sleeve. "Booth, wait." This was all happening too fast. He had just told her he loved her. She had known it to be unequivocally true, yet suddenly he was leaving her and she hadn't had the chance to vocalize everything she wanted to say to him. With Trey standing right here and several people staggered along the patio this was not the place to do it. He looked at her indifferently, waiting. She wasn't going to leave them like this – she couldn't. "I'd like to explain."

He shook his head. "Not necessary, Bones." She saw a glimmer of something in his eyes – something that looked like the love she had seen there only minutes before. "I meant what I said when we spoke," he said, his voice slightly gentler than it had been, "I want you to be happy." Just like that, he turned from her and held his hand out to Trey. She saw his anger flare again at his fellow agent even as they shook hands again. "Take care of her." It sounded more like an order than a request, but before Trey could reply Booth had disappeared into the brightly lit ballroom.

He was gone. Again. How could this have happened?

They watched him walk away. "I saw the two of you and you looked upset. I only interrupted because I didn't want to see you hurt again," Trey told her, not turning immediately to look at her. His eyes still followed Booth in the ballroom, his dark face grim.

She felt fresh tears forming. "It wasn't what you thought," she replied, partially furious with him for ruining their moment while the other smaller part of her appreciated his intended thoughtfulness. "I don't think he came with her tonight."

Trey looked at her. "Either way, Temperance, it won't hurt him to know what he's losing."

"Trying to make him jealous wasn't the answer," she snapped, taking a step back, her temper flaring. "Do you know what he thinks now?"

"Yeah – he thinks you are strong enough to move on without him. That's what you wanted, right?"

Brennan shook her head. "He thinks I want to run away to Uruguay. He thinks I'm seeing you. He thinks I'm going to let you fuck me!" A few faces turned towards her raised voice and the profanity. What a sight she must be, she realized as embarrassment mounted – she hadn't been able to stop her tears and now she couldn't even control her voice. She could never talk to Booth here: even if she could she was certain he wouldn't want to hear anything she had to say. "I'm getting out of here."

Looking properly contrite, his arm came out and took her by the upper arm. "I'm sorry, Tempe. I'll take you home."

She sidestepped forcefully and jerked out of his hand. "No. I'm going home alone. Now." This time she didn't wait for a response from him. She turned on her heels and headed down to the rain soaked street. Fog was beginning to roll in; giving a misty, mysterious cloudiness to the night that mirrored the haze she felt trapped in. Lifting her hand, she hailed a cab and resisted the urge to look back towards the ballroom to see if she could catch a glimpse of her former partner.

**Author's Note:**

**Agh! That Trey! **_***bangs head on the nearby desk repeatedly***_** Well, don't be too frustrated with him: I don't know about you, but a jealous Booth is just **_**so hot**_**! And a jealous Booth who just professed his love for the beautiful Temperance Brennan… we're in the home stretch now!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

From inside the ballroom Booth watched her go. She didn't look at Trey like she would have if he were her lover, nonetheless, he couldn't help the flare of fury that raged inside of him at the thought of his fellow agent – who had been with them in the brothel and had even seen his Bones almost completely naked – dating her. Had Trey hoped to take her back to his place tonight? Had he hoped to fuck her? Had they already?

Booth wanted to kill him. As it was he stood there a hair's breath away from marching out the door and beating the living shit out of one of his own agents, but he knew that not only would it be the most colossally stupid thing in the world to do in a building full of federal agents, if he did Bones would probably never speak to him again. And he had meant what he said – he wanted her to be happy, no matter what the cost for him.

The problem was; he wasn't convinced she was happy at all.

He watched as she got in the cab, her violet dress disappearing behind the yellow door as fog folded in around the vehicle. From the back window of the cab he saw her head lower, never looking back as the cab disappeared down the hazy street. He felt his heart break into pieces when he realized how many times he had seen a cab take her away but this time – this time – she wouldn't be there in the morning. Or any of the ones that followed.

Turning, he tore his gaze from the empty street. Not giving a shit, he walked past Hacker and his coworkers and headed for the valet. He didn't want to be here one minute longer. He didn't want to get drunk or even march outside and kick Trey's ass. He wanted to go home and sleep and hope he'd wake up in a different world than the one collapsing around him.

-X-

_I love you, Temperance Brennan. For the rest of my life every day of my life I will love you._

Booth's words echoed in her thoughts as the cab turned down the relatively empty D.C. streets, which were becoming covered in a growing blanket of fog.

Brennan was convinced she was losing her mind. Gone was the rationality she used to make sense out of life: how could she ever compartmentalize the evidence of his love for her these past six years? How could she ever quantify the potential heartache, emptiness and loneliness that awaited her in a future without him?

She loved him. She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone; it was a fact that terrified her. That's why she hadn't let herself go to him the way they both wanted - if something happened to him she feared she would simply be unable to exist in a world he wasn't a part of but now, it was turning out that way anyway. Every attempt she had made to guard herself from such a loss had only resulted in the same ending. The definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome: hadn't that Einstein quote haunted both of them all these years?

Booth had been right a long time ago. They should aim for a different outcome – he had done his part by offering her whatever she needed from him.

_I'm yours; in whatever way you want me._

Staring out the window, she sucked in her breath at the simple memory of that statement. One sentence was all it had taken for him to give her the greatest gift he had ever given her, in addition to his love: he had given her freedom. Booth wanted her, he wanted family and a future and everything in between, but more than that he had wanted her to be happy. He was willing to do whatever he could so she was happy.

What had she ever done to deserve such devotion?

For the first time in ages, Temperance Brennan felt pure, unadulterated joy. She felt free; as if Booth's words had lifted a large amount of weight from her shoulders. Sitting in the back of the cab, the future didn't seem like such a frightening thing. Even if she one day lost him, even if she one day saw her world turn upside down again, she had a gift he had given her that was worth more than anything. She had the love of the most honorable, good hearted, brave, strong and superbly sexiest man she had ever known. She felt invincible. She felt courageous. She felt like doing something about it.

An inexplicable smile formed on her lips. "Driver, I'd like to change my destination, please." She told him the address, leaning back on the seat and feeling excitement build like butterflies in her stomach.

"I'm not sure exactly where that is," he responded over his shoulder. "Do you know where you're going?"

Temperance Brennan let out a short, nervous but happy laugh. "Yes. Yes, I do."

**Author's Note:**

**Yep, she's going where you think she's going! This was a short chapter, but I'll make up for it with more important - and hotter - things to come. We're in the final four(ish) chapters!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Author's Note:**

**We're earning our M rating again from here on out, ladies and gents: hopefully you won't mind… ;-)**

The bowtie fell to the floor carelessly as Booth unbuttoned the first three buttons of the white straightjacket he'd been wearing at the gala. The tuxedo jacket had already been thrown across an empty chair. As he stood in his living room, he momentarily debated getting into his SUV and driving over to Bones' apartment and pounding on the door until she let him in. He'd take her in his arms. He'd devour her in kisses like there was no tomorrow. He would give her every inch of himself if she would take it, willingly.

A groan escaped him: it did no good thinking like this, he thought to himself. He couldn't make her want him no matter how much he wanted her. Besides, it was possible she and Trey would be making up from their tiff at the Gala – God knew he couldn't stand to let his thoughts go there. He was in absolute misery.

A sharp, abrupt knock on the door snapped him from his thoughts. Who the fuck had come to interrupt his evening of torment? He yanked open the door carelessly, not giving a damn who was on the other side.

Bones was standing there. The shock of seeing her caused his heart to leap for joy as his lips parted slightly in surprise. Physically, besides her hair falling down around her shoulders she looked the same as she had earlier, only now – now there was something different in the tilt of her head: something different in the light of her beautiful blue eyes. God, she was so breathtaking… he was speechless.

"I'm ready," she whispered, looking directly at him with her heart thundering in her chest.

Booth was taken aback at the look in her eyes. It was a look of vulnerability, openness… confidence. Was she talking about what he thought she was talking about? He wasn't going to place hope behind her statement: he couldn't, because he was damn sure his heart could not take any more hurt. "Ready for what?" he responded, unable to stop his eyes from wandering down her glorious body still sheathed in that stunning dress and back up to her face.

Brennan took a deep breath. If there was ever a time to be courageous in her life, this was truly it - this was the reason she had come. "I'm ready for all of it. The whole package – that's how you referred to it that night we… laid together. Everything. With you."

One look was all it took for Booth to see the truth written all over her face and for his heart to explode with joy. His lips slightly parted in shock and his dark eyes bored into hers even as he remained motionless, standing in the doorway staring at her like he couldn't believe what she was offering to him. But she knew – _she_ _knew_ – what she was doing this time. Bones was offering herself to him: it was a gift too great to hope for.

"Booth?" She bit her lower lip nervously. Had he called Hannah here on his way home and had she just made a complete fool of herself to the man that meant everything to her? Why hadn't she thought this through on the way over here? Was it too late for them? "Do you," she paused, for the first time in her life actually afraid to ask a question, "still want me?"

There was a flicker in his eyes and within an instant he had her by the shoulders, pulling her into his apartment and slamming the door behind her. He seemed mad, she thought. Was he? Before she realized what was happening he had her slammed against the door, his body forcing hers into the wood and his lips pushing on top of the lip she had just been biting. Her gasp of surprise opened her lips and Booth took over her mouth, plundering her with his tongue as sensations raced through her: his hard torso like a wall against her breasts. One of his rock solid thighs pushing its way between her legs, causing the fabric of the dress to pull in protest. His fingers fisted in her hair tilting her head back against the door to give him better access to her mouth. An already full-blown erection pressing insistently into her stomach. She felt claimed.

It was all the incentive she needed. Lifting herself higher onto her tiptoes she gave back as good as she got, battling his tongue with her own as desire coursed through her. Never, she realized, had she experienced an explosion of sensation like this before. Her own arms came up under his as her hands clawed desperately at his back through the fabric of his white shirt. She wanted his skin beneath her hands!

A groan escaped from deep within her. She and Booth had kissed before and it had been unforgettable, but in her wildest imagination she never expected the profound effect his lips would have on hers when Booth completely lost control. It was clear to her as one hand of his came down from her head to claim a breast still smashed up against him: he was everywhere and all around and pulling her deeper into oblivion.

She had to breathe! Not wanting to pull away but forced out of necessity since she was experiencing an acute lack of oxygen, a small cry of protest escaped her lips as she turned her head to the side and gasped for air.

Using his hand in her hair he turned her head back to him and for a moment she was afraid he wasn't going to allow her a moment's rest. His dark eyes glittered with danger, but he was panting almost as badly as she was. "Does that answer your question?" he rasped, looking at her in such a way that she couldn't believe she had ever doubted just _how much_ this man wanted her.

Brennan nodded quickly, her eyes glued to his. "Yes."

"You come to my apartment, looking -" he paused as his eyes racked her body in unadulterated appreciation, "gorgeous. In a dress I can see your tits through, which hugs your curves as if begging me to fuck you in it. You say you're ready for me. For us." He leaned in even closer, the hand that had been in her hair now braced against the door, his gaze commanding hers. A thrill of anticipation ran through her. "So what the fuck were you doing with Trey at the Gala tonight?"

This, she realized with a twinge of excitement, was exactly what extremely turned on and jealous Booth looked like – a hair's breath away from fucking her up against the door and so dangerous he looked lethal. He was lethal. Her tongue touched her overly stimulated lips hesitantly as she raced to come up with the right answer. "It isn't what you think it is," she blurted. "It's not romantic. It isn't physical."

Booth's leg that had been between her thighs pushed back in aggressively and she sucked in her breath when his rock hard thigh came in contact with her the juncture of her thighs. The look in his eyes was so treacherous with barely restrained passion, though, that she forgot to breathe back in for a second. "It sure as hell better not be."

Quickly she shook her head. How could he honestly think there was someone else? "No. We're friends. I mean, at first I mistook an invitation for dinner to be related to our case when he meant it to be a prelude to a romantic or sexual encounter, but I made it clear – I made it clear, Booth. It wasn't like that for me."

His eyes searched hers and she saw a flicker of relief in his handsome features. Nevertheless, his jaw remained clenched. "You dress like that for all your _friends_?"

She pressed in closer to his thigh, seeking more pressure where she ached. "I dressed like this for you!" Brennan cried, her sexual frustration mounting. "Despite my reasoning that we should take a break from being around each other, despite my attempts at compartmentalizing my emotions for you, the only reason I accepted Trey's invitation to the gala was because I was hoping you would be there."

"Good." One hand came up and palmed her breast with unexpected gentleness, and she let out a strangled cry when his thumb simply grazed her nipple through the fabric. She was so turned on it was almost painful. His eyes met hers. "Because it's you and me Bones. That's it."

Hearing it made her feel ecstatic, but there was a question she didn't want to ask that hung in the air between them. Wednesday night she had seen for herself evidence of a possible flaw in his statement. She had been hurt before: she had to be sure. "What about Hannah?"

Booth took a surprised step back and Brennan fell away from the door a bit. Confusion replaced the forceful look on his face. "What about her?"

Now it was Brennan who felt the flare of jealousy. Was he going to try to deny what she witnessed? "I saw you with her Wednesday night, Booth. At your office." It was a memory that had plagued her since she saw it - it had left her bereft and broken, furious at him and full of self-loathing for pushing him away. "I came to tell you that I had been wrong to push you away; that I… missed you. Instead I saw you holding her."

He looked at her with an expression of incredulity as he thought back to that evening. So much had been happening these past days and weeks. Realization dawned on him. "I was with Rebecca, Bones! Christ, you thought-? It was Rebecca. She came to talk to me about Parker and we ended up talking about you, actually." He looked her up and down. Had Bones heard nothing he had been telling her this past week? He had told her he would never take his ex-girlfriend back, hadn't he? "You thought I was with _Hannah_?" he asked, the disbelief evident in his voice.

"Yes!" she shot back, her blue eyes sparking. "It was a plausible assumption. I was afraid she had come back for you; or worse, that you had gone back to her."

Booth shook his head. "I told you, Bones: even if she came crawling back to me I'm done with her. I told myself I loved her, but it wasn't real. You're real." He took her by the shoulders and pulled her back to himself so her body was pressed against his in the entryway. His heated brown eyes bored into hers. "What we have between us is real and it's ours. I told you I'd love you forever and that's the honest-to-God truth. We're a part of each other, inside. Do you know what I mean?"

She nodded. "I know what you mean," she whispered urgently.

"There's only one great love in each person's life, Bones. You. Are. Mine."

His transparent honesty was overwhelming and Brennan tears of joy sting her eyes. Everything she had wanted, everything she had hoped for was written there in his face. Booth loved her: she was the one and it made her feel powerful and cherished all at the same time. "If you love me, prove it," she found herself saying, raising her chin a little as if to issue a challenge.

A heartbeat passed and for a second both of them forgot to breathe. His face remained impassive, but she saw his jaw clench a bit. His voice was very even, very controlled when he answered; "Be careful what you're asking for."

She loved seeing his passion flare up at her words. She felt powerful knowing the effect she had on him and she wanted it to experience it firsthand. It was now or never. "I told you," she retorted, her voice steady. " I'm ready for you - for a relationship. For whatever you want from me. For everything. I can handle you."

His dangerous dark eyes burned even as he knew she meant every word. "That's what you think."

His lips came crashing down on hers. This time she was ready though, opening her mouth and welcoming him inside as they invaded each other, tongues battling and teeth scraping. She was filled with the taste of him and couldn't help the whimpering sound that came from the back of her throat as his tongue slid through her mouth with enthusiasm that matched her own. His hands came up and she felt her dress slip down to her waist as he pulled the delicate fabric harshly off her shoulders. Each hand passed right down her sides to the gathered fabric, then tugged at it until the dress gave up and dropped to the floor. It was then that he pulled away to admire the handiwork his hands had just made.

Overwhelmed and aroused as hell Booth looked his fill at his fantasy come to life. Bones was standing in front of him in nothing but thigh-high nylons and a garter, barely there panties, high heeled shoes, her hair loose, her lips pink and slightly swollen from his assault, her body more magnificent than anything he had ever seen. She was stunning and she was watching him with a look of hunger and a smidgen of vulnerability. Without thinking twice or wanting to leave any doubt in her mind as to how much he wanted her, he closed the slight distance between them again and brought his lips on top of hers. This time, he couldn't help his own groan: she tasted like heaven and he couldn't get enough of her. For the rest of his life he would never get enough of her. Busily, she worked as assertively as she kissed while she tried to pull the remaining closed buttons open on his white shirt. Without breaking the kiss, Booth moved them a little farther down the hall as he helped her cause and shrugged the shirt off with her. As it fell to the ground a few feet away from her dress, she pulled back a little and opened her eyes to see his broad, expansive, bare chest. A smile of appreciation for his perfect form grew on her lips as Booth's mouth trailed from her neck to her jaw but the smile turned into an open gasp as Booth's teeth tugged on her earlobe with a tender nip.

Easily Booth lifted her up into him as she wound her legs around his waist, his pants and her panties the only thing separating them from where they both so desperately wanted to be. The new leverage gave him perfect access to her breasts, so instead of making it to his bedroom he pushed her against an empty space of wall so she couldn't leverage herself away from him while his open mouth came down and captured a peaked nipple as one of his hands came up to shape and squeeze her other breast as if to prep it for a feast.

"Booth," she squeaked on an intake of breath, her nerves dancing with desire as he used his tongue and teeth to torment her. Never before had her nipples felt so _extremely_ hyper-sensitive! He turned his attention to the neighboring nipple by tracing the areola with his hot tongue. The beginning of stubble on his cheek left a mark on her porcelain skin as he finally drew her tit into his mouth and sucked while his free hand teased her other nipple. When he gently bit she almost exploded right then and there: the question about Booth biting during sex had absolutely been answered. She wanted more!

He felt her body slightly stiffen as her hips rose from the wall a bit as she fisted her hands in his hair and held him to her breast, desperate not to break contact. He suppressed a smile of amusement, mostly because his mouth was still busy tasting and teasing the tantalizing tits he had spent years fantasizing about (or trying to avoid getting caught ogling). She was close to orgasm and he wasn't even inside her yet; Christ she was responsive!

Desperate to feel more of her he pulled away long enough to carry her quickly into his bedroom. Using his distraction to her advantage, Brennan placed open mouth kisses along his neck and ran her hands along his taught, tight muscles until he laid her down on the bed. For a moment Booth simply pulled back to look: lying on his bed, her legs open and inviting and her arms open, waiting for him. She was more alluring than any of his fantasies, but what really touched him to the core was the wanton desire and absolute trust he saw in her bright blue eyes. She was utterly captivating and until the day that he died he knew he would never forget this sight.

His pants and brightly colored socks hit the ground as she watched him with a smile of appreciation dancing across her features until he stood naked and proud before her. Her gaze turned dark with desire and a hint of trepidation as his full blown erection came into view and he suppressed a groan of thrill and need as one of her hands came up to her breast to tweak her own nipple. The sight sent a shockwave through him as his mouth parted slightly. Not wasting another second, he worked his way partially up her body, shedding her of the stilettos and thigh-high tights. He got sidetracked, however, by the mark of her wetness on her panties: the entirely sublime evidence of her arousal. His hands came up the length of her body, pausing at her panty line. "Booth, please," she moaned, feeling how close he was to where she needed him to be.

"All in good time, baby," he responded softly, his breath teasing her mound and soliciting a whimper from her. The scent of her was intoxicating and Booth felt almost dizzy with desire while he tried his best to ignore his extremely painful erection. They were only going to have one first time – the last first time for both of them - and he wanted to make sure it was one she never forgot. Without removing her panties he kissed her there at the juncture between her thighs, his hands moving to her thighs to hold them open and allow him better access. Brennan moaned helplessly, lifting herself to see Booth go down on her. His wide shoulders helped to hold her open and she loved seeing his perfectly sculpted muscles at work on her and against her. Desperately she wanted him to rid her of her panties and get on with it. Her empty core was pounding with craving for him. She needed him now!

His tongue darted into her pussy through her panties and her hips arched helplessly. "Booth!" she whimpered, unable to tell him what she desperately craved.

She felt a rumble in his torso between her legs as he chuckled quietly. "Can't take it, huh, Bones?"

That was it: she'd had it with his tormenting. It was time to level the playfield: wasn't that the expression Booth used? Gathering all of the strength she could muster she pulled herself up and away from him. Booth looked up in surprise as she jumped off the bed and headed straight for him, eager desire flashing in her eyes. She came around to him and as he turned to look at her, his face questioning she placed both hands on his chest and pushed him backwards to the bed. He let himself fall. "I can take anything," she purred, her body quickly covering his as she lowered her head to place open kisses the perfect abdominal muscles she had been admiring for years. How she had always wanted to do this! Her finger drew a line up and down his shaft attentively. "I want to take it all."

Booth almost flew a foot in the air as her sweet lips parted to take him in her mouth. Christ, it was more painfully exquisite than he could have hoped for. She was hot and wet and sucking him like a Hoover as her fingers played and squeezed at the base of his shaft. To his surprise she seemed slightly less skilled at giving head than he'd always imagined – and thank God for that - but she made up for it with abundant enthusiasm, which touched him with even more love for her, if that were possible. When she started to explore his testicles his mouth went dry. "Bones," he gasped, watching her taking him in as far as she could. The sight almost made him come right then and there. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to let himself be taken over by her - he desperately wanted to pleasure her into oblivion before he came. He gritted his teeth and tried to focus on anything else he could to keep himself in check. He couldn't lose it before she did!

"Come on, Booth, give it up," she taunted, clearly knowing he was a hair's breath away from busting his nut and delighting in it.

He'd waited six years for this moment: six goddamn years. He wanted to show her how much he loved her: how much he cherished her. She was going first. "Get up," he barked, more out of desperation than anger. Brennan nodded her head in disagreement with him in her mouth and he saw red. "I'm absolutely _not _kidding, Bones. Get up."

"No." A heartbeat passed. "Make me."

**Author's Note:**

**I know, I know – I'm sorry! The muse just spoke and it was the _perfect_ place to lead into the fun to come. To Be Continued!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Enough was enough. With Herculean strength he grabbed her forcefully by the shoulders as she squeaked in surprise. "You're coming for me first," he growled, flipping her so she was once again on her back on his mattress. She was shocked at forcefulness of his voice and the look of intensity in his eyes. His teeth were clenched, his jaw tight and there was a look of wildness in his eyes that caused her to shudder. She clenched her thighs together in acute arousal, feeling herself grow even wetter at the power he seemed to have over her.

He didn't see annoyance in her face for having interrupted her work – he saw pure, unadulterated heat at his dominate behavior. His Bones liked his alpha male aggression, did she? Well, who was he to deny his partner what they both wanted so badly? Moving up the length of her body, his hands were everywhere on her, caressing and tormenting, while her sly little hands traveled down to his cock again. When she moved to grasp him, he quickly captured her wrists in his and lifted her hands above her head, keeping them locked with one of his hands. "You said you were ready for me, so I want to see it." Without warning, she yelped in shock and arousal as he ripped her panties literally off her body. They dropped in tatters to the floor. "I'm going to send you into a fucking oblivion."

Without warning he pushed two fingers into her tight pussy, sending them deep as she gasped at the penetration, her hands fisting beneath his, her body rising and her walls stretching around him. When she stiffened, Booth's eyes shot up to her face, trying to gauge her reaction. She was so tight – much tighter than he had expected and he was instantaneously terrified that he was hurting her – but he didn't see pain on her face. He saw kind of wondrous awakening dawn across her features and he gave them both a moment for her to adjust and for himself to study how goddamn gorgeous she was.

When he felt her warm, wet walls grasp him in an attempt to pull him deeper he stifled a groan, his cock desperately envious of his fingers. He was agonizingly rock hard, but it was worth it to make Bones writhe for him – for awhile.

"Oh, God, Booth…" she moaned, low and ravenous, as a lightning bolt of desire shot straight to his cock. Her wide eyes came back to meet his and a slow smile spread across his face at the sight of her parted, pink lips, the entire beauty of Bones stretched out underneath him and the wonder he saw written all over her face. Slowly he began to move in and out of her, her juices coating him as she clenched him and he lowered his head to a hardened nipple. Never letting go of her hands restrained over her head he used his mouth on her breast as his fingers slowly tormented her from the inside out.

Every part of her body felt driven by his fingers in her core, Brennan realized. The rough edges of his fingers stimulated her from within in a way she had never experienced before, but it wasn't enough. "Faster," she managed. "Harder. Please." The two fingers within her curled slightly and she drew her breath in sharply. Her eyes were glued to his perfect form, taking in all of the glorious muscles as he stretched his body with hers. The broad shoulders that tapered into his lean waist. His narrow hips planted between her legs. He was so perfectly structured, so unbelievably sexy to watch in his concentration, bringing her closer and closer to the edge. He was taunting her with his touch as his thumb ghosted over her hyper-sensitive bundle of nerves. It wasn't enough! "More!" It came out as a gasp this time.

His heated dark eyes met hers. "You're mine now, Bones: mine. I'm going to make you believe that nothing will ever be better than the two of us together, like this. We're one now."

A sharp intake of breath was his first answer. "Yes!" she exclaimed in a strangled voice, her heart bursting in agreement as her body writhed on a precipice. "A miracle," she rasped, the word coming out of nowhere but somehow so perfectly accurate in its current description. "You – and me." She saw him flash a grin of satisfaction and immediately his hand began a fevered pace inside of her as he used his thumb to scrape along the length of her clit. Her body began bucking helplessly.

Oh God he felt so good, teasing and stretching her and reaching into her until he was knuckle deep. The only sounds filling the room were his steady and her ragged breathing and the sounds of his fingers as they jammed in and out of her at a feverish pace. She couldn't keep up – the sensations were too great! Then he curled his fingers, finding that rigid spot inside her. "Booth!" she screamed, her body immediately bucking helplessly.

She was straining so hard against the hand that restrained her arms above her head that he let them go as he simultaneously added a third long finger within her. She cried out at the sensation of three fingers penetrating her and stretching her to her limit. "Come for me, Bones," he murmured roughly, knowing she was fighting off the crash. He had to let her fall – he was desperate to make her come.

She reacted to the sound of his voice by gripping him tighter from within. Booth moved his unoccupied hand down to her stomach and laid it on top of her, pushing her back down on the bed gently to keep her from bucking too high. It was almost too much, he realized, as he felt his hips helplessly angle towards her, trying to find relief for his own monumentally painful erection. He couldn't wait any more for this part. Leaning down, his tongue found her clit as he hit that spot within her. "Aaaagggghhh!" she shrieked as she let go of her last shred of control and flew apart, her world dissolving into a bright light of perfection.

Booth felt every part of her body as the first orgasm washed over her, her entire beautiful body convulsing in rapture. He kept his fingers within her moving slowly, the heat of her orgasm bathing them, burning them and letting her ride the waves coursing through her.

"Open your eyes, Bones."

There was nothing he wanted more in that moment than see her brilliant blue eyes. They fixed solely on him while her delectable mouth was still parted as she continued to pant unevenly while he withdrew his hand from her, leaving her core longing for him. Booth knew what a gift it was to see how her guard was down completely as she lay open and exposed to him in every way. Her gaze locked with his as he smiled at her and the look of wonder on her face took his breath away. Her eyes were darkened with an insatiable look of lust. They both knew what was coming: he was showing exceptional control, wanting to make her fly apart before finding his own release, but now was the time. She was as ready for him as she was ever going to be and now he wanted to be hers in every way. Her arms reached up to pull him closer until they were face to face. "I love you, Booth," she said, a single tear making its way from the corner of her eye down towards the bed as he stilled in shock. He hadn't expected her to say that. He'd always, always dreamed of it, but hearing it touched him in a way nothing ever had before. The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile. "No one has ever meant more to me… I'm unequivocally certain that for the rest of my life I will love you."

It was everything…everything. Booth's heart burst open with the single most profound experience of joy he'd ever had.

Just like that her statement turned into an uncontrollable gasp as Booth entered her powerfully. He couldn't help his own groan as he sheathed himself in her taut, wet heat as she stretched to accommodate him. It was like coming home, to where he was always supposed to be. His head dropped to the side of hers as he stayed still, giving her the time she needed to adjust to him: God it was a tight fit: it was perfect. "I love you too, Bones," he whispered in her ear, proud of himself for even being able to speak at that moment as the emotion of the moment carried him away. "Always have, always will."

Booth could feel her heart racing beneath his, her generous, beautiful breasts smashed up against his hard, smooth chest as she fisted him from within her. "Make me yours, completely," she murmured.

It was all the encouragement he needed as he began his rhythm within her. His mouth trailed over her skin and anywhere he could reach her, nipping and sucking on tender flesh until she turned her head towards him, silently begging him to reclaim her mouth in the way he was laying claim to her body. Happily he obliged her as their tongues began to tangle. Her hands were all over him, running lightly over his shoulders and his biceps until – after one particularly strong thrust – he felt her nails dig into his back, loving the small pleasurable pinpricks of pain.

She felt like a small glove around him, tight and hot: he desperately resisted the overwhelming urge to pound her into the mattress to release the blinding orgasm he was sure to achieve. There was so much he wanted to make Bones feel first. He felt her hips rise up to meet him as he moved within her, her walls clenching him desperately, trying to draw him even deeper. Oh God, what an exercise in self-control, he thought.

She broke off the kiss as he tugged on one of her nipples, causing shockwaves through both of them as she tightened even more around him. He couldn't help it: his thrusts became deeper and harder as she squeezed him like a vice. Every fiber of her being was attuned to the feeling of him invading her body, laying claim to her in a way she'd always hoped. His pace increased more as her hand came forward to scrape one of his own nipples. Jerking in response, he slammed back into her so hard she yelped in delight. He was so hard… so strong…so overwhelming. She was close. "Booth."

At the sound of his name falling from her lips he groaned and brought his arms behind her back. In one smooth motion he sat back on his haunches, knees and feet digging into the mattress and brought her with him, lifting her completely from the bed. She brought her head forward, her auburn hair sweeping forward as the air left her lungs at the feel of his overwhelming hardness spearing her body, the new angle drawing him even deeper.

Brennan's core was throbbing almost unbearably. Her arms came up behind his back, trying desperately to cling to his damp skin and keep him where she needed him to be. "Let go, Bones," he said, plunging in and out of her and engulfing her body in every way possible.

She was on the precipice, moving with him, slamming herself up and down and taking him all the way in. He was giving her everything and yet she knew he wasn't losing control: not in the all-consuming way she was losing it. "Oh, God," she moaned helplessly, loving the way he was filling her, giving her everything. It was as if she couldn't breathe. She felt on fire. Why wouldn't Booth let go with her? She wanted to let go, to give herself over. He hit the end of her walls and a wordless cry fell from her lips.

"Come for me," he ordered, simultaneously bringing one of his hands to the juncture of their joining as his talented fingers ruthlessly rubbed her clit.

She shattered.

Booth felt her inner walls grasp and cling to every inch of him embedded inside of her as she exploded around him and he couldn't help but shout her name at the feeling, even as he denied himself his own release. He wasn't done with her yet: his beautiful, brilliant Bones had more coming before he let himself go. He felt her go boneless in his arms as he laid her back down on the bed, still fully within her, unwilling to ever leave. Her eyes opened again and sought his. Christ, this woman was everything to him.

"I- " she started. She felt his racing heartbeat inside of her.

She was gasping desperately for breath as he brought his hands up to the sides of her face, gently stroking the sides of her face with his hands, trying to divert attention from his rampantly anxious desire to pound into her, fucking her fully with everything in him. More than anything, he wanted to make this first time with her everything she'd ever hoped for. "What is it, baby?" he asked softly.

The care and concern he had touched her as intimately as their joining, she realized. But it was time for him to lose control. She wanted to make her mark on him the way he had on her. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly as she tried to smile. "I…" she panted, "I…will… always come… for you, Booth."

Her words sent him over the edge. Without warning he withdrew and plunged roughly back into her so deeply she screamed as he shouted. He went at her with everything in him, bringing her legs up so high they fell over his shoulders as he speared her body with his, plowing into her with everything he was. The new angle brought him so deep he hit the end of her walls time and time again, filling her fully and overwhelming her as he invaded her in every way possible. Her walls cramped around him again and as he filled her she lost the rhythm of keeping up with him, but it didn't matter: his grip on her hips kept her where he wanted her. Her feet dangled against his back as she let herself be given over to him fully while he pushed and shoved them both to the brink. His thrusts became frenzied and without warning, her climax shot through her like a lightning bolt and she let go of an ear piercing scream. "Jesus Christ, Bones," he roared as he kept hammering into her for everything he was worth. He rammed so hard into her she saw stars. Barely over her last climax, she felt herself stiffen again and as another orgasm hit her he slammed back into her one last time, roaring his release as he came completely with her. Another aftershock hit her and her muscles went limp as she rode it out, her voice gone and her cries inaudible.

For a moment everything was silent except for their ragged gasps and the sounds of their heartbeats thudding in their ears. Their skin, slick with sweat was burning hot as their arms stayed wrapped around each other. Booth knew his weight must be pinning her down, so mustering the last ounce of strength he had he rolled both of them and pulled her on top of him, unwilling to let her go anywhere. Her head lay limply on his impressive pecs, with her gorgeous hair tousled and fanned out on him, caressing him delicately.

This was his dream come true: his Bones with him, loving him, holding him, giving herself to him. In his heart Booth knew he would be spending every second of the rest of his life returning the same gift she had given to him.

**Author's Note:**

**Pretty please, help an insecure author and review! Let her know if you liked this chapter, won't you? It's harder writing smut (at least I thought so). In any case, h****ang onto your discarded garish socks, tuxedo jackets and stunning purple dresses, kids, 'cause we're not through yet!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:**

**Wow! Thanks for the awesome reviews, everybody! I was SO excited to see them (I'm like a kid on Christmas morning with reviews!) and to know that you guys were **_***ahem* **_**satisfied ****with Chapter 17. Onto the next, shall we? **

**Chapter 18**

"We should have done that a long time ago," Brennan murmured, relishing the feeling of lying on top of Booth and basking in a substantially satisfying post-coital haze.

Gently, one of his hands fisted in her hair and used his hold to turn her face up to his. Her eyes were half closed and almost a translucent, ocean blue color as her face wore the most peaceful expression he'd ever seen before: it was beautiful. Still, there was a question hovering above him that he felt compelled to ask, so he bit the bullet and said, "Would you have been in love with me then if we had done this awhile ago?" Booth was absolutely not sure he even wanted to hear the answer.

Lips pursing slightly, he watched her ponder. Jesus, was he holding his breath? "Yes," she responded finally, after giving it her usual due consideration. "I have loved you for quite some time, Booth, although I don't know if I would have given you a vocal declaration of my emotions. I suppose it would have depended on the variables in the scenario and how far back in time it would have been."

Ever the scientist, he thought, pleased enough with her answer. He smiled. "All that matters is that you love me now, Bones," he said softly. "All that matters is that I love you too and we're together. No regrets."

She returned his smile, her chin on his chest. "Agreed." She paused, searching his face. "While I still maintain it is scientifically impossible for two individuals to occupy the same space entirely and become one, I believe we finally came as close to being a singular entity as possible tonight. I understand now the merit behind the sentiment you once spoke of."

He laughed as she basked in the deep rumbling of amusement she felt in his chest. "God, I love it when you talk squinty to me."

She rolled her eyes in mock agitation at his amusement. "The entire study is not complete yet," she continued, wanting to keep the smile on his face. "So perhaps, Booth, you can assist me in my research. I have been unable to conduct an experiment that has preoccupied me for some time now," she said as he felt her right hand trail up the sides of his ribcage.

He watched, his dark brown eyes amused and suspicious at the mischievousness he saw sneak into her expression. "What's that?"

"Are you ticklish?"

Without warning her fingers danced lightly across the sides of his ribcage and he jumped in reaction, partly because – yes – he was still a little ticklish near the sides of his upper torso but also because her touch sent shockwaves straight down to his cock again. "Bones, Bones!" he gasped as she giggled, enjoying his discomfort and the fact that she was still sprawled on top of him, trying to use her weight to pin him in place. He brought his own large hands up to grasp her under her arms, delighted by the fact that she laughed when he did so, clearly a little ticklish herself. It was all the incentive he needed: swiftly he tried to flip her over and administer his own ticklish torture, but she squirmed and tried to get out from under him, both of them laughing as they flipped sideways on the bed.

"Booth!" she squeaked in laughter as he used his toned muscles to win the upper hand and pin her – after all, she started it – her arms and legs flailing.

They got too close to the edge of the bed because, without warning, one of her feet smacked something on his dresser and they both heard a crash as something fell. "Oh, no," she exclaimed quickly, as Booth stopped giving her a taste of her own medicine to see what fell victim to their rambunctiousness.

Leaning over as he stood beside the bed Booth quickly picked up the picture frame of himself and Parker that had been resting on the bedside table. It still didn't have glass in it from the last time it broke. With a quick frown, he pushed the memory of how it broke out of his thoughts, banishing it forever. This was true happiness, he knew now: this is what he had been looking for in all the wrong places before but was lucky enough to experience for real with the woman who meant everything to him.

"Did I break it?" she inquired, sitting up on the bed and pulling the sheet up to her chest in a moment of unexpected modesty.

He shook his head. "Nah, Bones, there wasn't any glass in this picture frame anyway."

"It's a nice photograph," she said, looking at what he held in his hand. "Parker loves you very much."

Booth smiled as he looked from the photo back at her. "I love him very much, too."

"You're a good father, Booth," she said softly, her thoughts beginning to churn. Now that she and Booth were together, was motherhood a possibility she wanted to re-explore? She had never seriously entertained the thought of giving birth to anyone _else_'s child, so now that they were together was it something that was in the future for them, much like Angela and Hodgins? Would Parker want a sibling? Would Booth?

He watched her expression begin to become preoccupied. "Thanks, Bones," he replied, when suddenly, realization dawned on him like a tidal wave crashing to shore: he hadn't used a condom. He hadn't protected Bones. What the fuck had he been thinking?

Never in his life had Seeley Booth not been one hundred percent precautious with a partner: now, with the one who mattered the most, why had he not given her the same consideration? Sure, he'd had a check up since his disastrous relationship with Hannah and he was clean, but he'd never told Bones that. He'd never dug the condom out from his wallet or the nightstand. She deserved better! What was wrong with him?

"Booth?"

His mouth was as dry as the Sahara. "Yeah?" Jesus, his voice sounded strangled.

"Do you think you'd want to be a parent again one day?" she asked, her voice small with her eyes fixed on him, waiting for an answer.

Oh, God. He couldn't look her directly in the eyes, he was so embarrassed. "Um, um…" Come on, answer her! he chastised himself silently as he tried to catch up to where she was. How was he going to answer her? How could he when his thoughts were on his own foolishness? Here she was talking about, what – having a baby with him one day? Is that where this was going? On one hand, his heart was doing jumping jacks of joy at the thought that perhaps they would become parents together one day, since she seemed to be angling that way, and on the other side he was kicking himself sideways from Sunday at his own current stupidity and lack of responsibility to both of them.

Brennan watched emotions of panic flicker across his features and her stomach lurched unexpectedly: clearly this was a topic that was making Booth extremely uncomfortable. She had always assumed he would want another child – hadn't he told her that he wanted more kids? – but perhaps there was another reason he appeared so upset. She set out to correct the situation:"I didn't mean to alarm you, Booth," she said quickly. "It was just a simple question. Given your antiquated religious belief system, though, perhaps it is your intention to marry before procreating again. If that's the case," she hedged, looking down at the comforter but seeing nothing as her heart thudded, "I concede that I would be willing to discuss the very remote possibility that it could become a factor for us in the future." She was practically squirming on the bed. "That is, I am assuming since we have declared mutual love for each other that you would want to be in a relationship with me from here on out. I, for one, find it agreeable to be linked to you in an exclusive romantic and physical sexual relationship. Any feedback you have on the situation would be welcome."

Oh God, words were coming out of her mouth faster than she could stop them and with every second Booth's eyes grew wider and his mouth parted a bit. "Whoa, Bones," he said quickly, putting his hands out and taking an inadvertent step backward from the bed. "Hang on, okay?" His mind raced through everything she was saying. She was willing to discuss the 'remote' possibility of marriage? They were talking kids? How the fuck had they gotten from there to here? "Let's not put the cart before the horse."

Immediately, she frowned. "It would be illogical to put a cart in front of a horse, Booth, if the intention was to move the cart forward. Or are you referring of a way of restraining the horse?"

Breathe, Seeley, he commanded himself, trying to recover from the whiplash of happy possibilities she'd just outlined for the both of them. What was she talking about? "Nah, Bones," he responded, shaking his head, "it's just an expression. It means to not get ahead of ourselves. You just went from zero to sixty in ten seconds flat."

Again, she eyed him with a puzzled expression. "I don't know what that means."

Booth sighed, his shoulders dropping as he made himself move closer to the bed. More than anything, he didn't want to scare her away again: a relationship with her was exactly what he wanted - for forever. He just needed to make sure that whatever the future held for both of them; it was what they both wanted. "It means the conversation jumped ahead very quickly," he answered her. He thought through each of her points one by one. "These are all things we need to talk about together."

Brennan couldn't look him in the eyes, so instead she looked down at the messy bed sheets as one hand held the bed sheet tighter to her chest nervously. "I apologize, Booth," she began softly. "It was presumptuous of me to assume that were are in an exclusive relationship now after only one, um, " she waved her free hand absently over the bed, "time together." His breathing caught as her gaze came up to meet his and he saw the same vulnerability in her eyes that he saw the night she stood on a stage in red lingerie last week. It made his gut hit the floor. "Of course I should not have asked such a personal question of you and assumed I would play a part in an inquiry about your future."

Before she could say another word, Booth set his knees on the bed and moved close to her, until they were sitting right in front of each other. He took her limp hand and the one holding the sheet in both of his hands, linking their hands between their legs. She kept the bed sheet up and tucked under her arms, as if using it to block him from her. "Bones, listen to me," he commanded softly, waiting until she looked directly at him, desperate to reassure her. "You don't ever have to apologize for asking me a damn thing: you can ask me anything you want anytime you want – that will never change. And for Christ's sake you don't ever have to apologize for assuming we're in an exclusive relationship because, baby, we're in one. You and me and that's all – we both know it, too. For the rest of my life, it's you, Bones." He saw her expel a breath at his reassurance. Jesus, he must have looked more freaked out than he thought! How could she have known it was about the lack of a condom and not because of the thought of having a child? "As for our future, you can inquire, question and debate to your heart's content about what it means because it's going to absolutely include both of us. I love you, Temperance Brennan. I love you and you are my future."

Her eyes glistened, but the small smile that found its way to her face set a small wave of relief through him. She took a breath and he knew from the look on her face that she was deciding what she wanted to say. "I love you too, Booth," she replied softly as his heart skipped a beat – he had a feeling it always would whenever she spoke those words. "You're my future, too." Leaning in, Booth kissed her tenderly as her lips automatically parted slightly to welcome him. It was an unexpectedly chaste kiss, so full of emotion that she felt a lump of emotion in her throat. After pulling away a little, she searched his face. "Why were you so visibly uncomfortable when I brought up the possibility of a child, then?"

He took a breath. "It wasn't about the idea of having another kid, Bones – honest. That's something I would really want." More than you could ever realize, he thought silently, not necessarily ready for her to know how he would feel like the happiest, luckiest, most –freaking-fantastic man in the world to know he was having a child with Temperance Brennan. It might overwhelm her to know he'd imagined having just that, even before tonight. "I was distracted because… because I forgot to protect you." He'd let go of her hands as he forced himself not to look away from her, unable to cover up the fact he felt like an idiot. "I'm so sorry, Bones. I forgot to wear a condom."

**Author's Note:**

**We all know where this takes us, right? Stay tuned - we're not leaving Booth's bedroom yet! (Now **_**there**_**'s a happy thought) *grins mischievously***


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"Oh."

Perhaps it was ridiculously impractical, but at that moment Temperance Brennan couldn't have cared less about the lack of a condom. Perhaps it was because there wasn't anything she would have changed about finally making love with Booth – either way, the facts were the facts and it wasn't like they could do anything to correct the situation now. He was looking at her so anxiously, however, that she felt herself offer a half smile. "It's alright. No regrets, remember, Booth?" she responded, eager to relieve him of the guilt so evident in his expression by repeating his words from a few minutes before. "Besides, I'm on the pill." As soon as the words left her mouth, she searched her memory. Did she take every dosage as scheduled? She had been sexually inactive for so long…

Relief filled his face and Booth smiled, touched at her quick forgiveness of his oversight. "You're right, Bones – no regrets: none whatsoever." He quickly leaned in and kissed her again, this time short and sweet and her train of thought was interrupted. "I want that with you one day, Bones; all of it. I want to be with you and I want to get married – that is if I can talk you into it eventually – and I want to have a dozen kids with you. You know that."

She had always suspected that, but hearing it reassured her. "I want that too," she said hesitantly, still uncertain about what marriage would mean for them, "for the most part."

An amused expression lit his face as he realized she was taking him literally at his word. Instinctively, he decided to let the marriage comment drop: he just wanted her to know he still wanted that one day - that his past with Hannah and Rebecca hadn't diminished his hopes of one day making Bones his wife. "What? A dozen is too many?"

Brennan looked at him like he had told her he thought the world was flat and that the sun rotated around the earth. "Far too many," she confirmed quickly, not bothering to hide the horror from her face at the thought of procreating twelve children. "One, perhaps, would be acceptable."

Before she even finished answering, he was shaking his head no, moving so close to her that their legs became almost entwined. "Nope. I think if we have one we're going to realize how insanely awesome our offspring is and we're going to want to do it again. Never let it be said that Seeley Booth can't compromise, though: a half dozen."

He was trying to keep the amusement out of his voice and appear perfectly serious, but it was difficult when she was frowning so spectacularly like she was right now. Were they really debating how many children they wanted? It was as if he'd died and gone to an alternate universe of joy: only this was real and was rapidly becoming his dream come true. It made his heart thud rapidly with elation. "That's still too many."

"Well," he hedged, "it would be meeting me halfway to agree to six, but since I love you I'll sacrifice again and go down to four. My final offer." He was keeping a straight face, even as she offered him the most skeptical expression he'd ever seen. "Of course, you will probably decide you want to stay at home with the kids, so you can quit your job with the Jeffersonian while I continue to work and catch bad guys and support you and our brood. You can make sure the house is clean and have dinner waiting for me every night when I come home and I will -" He was cut off by the sound of a thud that came from a punch she landed on his shoulder, hitting him hard enough that his torso moved back as he threw his head back and laughed, thoroughly enjoying teasing her. He opened his eyes long enough to see the moment she realized he was pulling her leg and he wrapped his arms around her in a huge hug.

"Booth…" she griped as she was squished into his chest, feigning annoyance at the fact that he had so successfully had her going. He felt her lips curling into a smile against his bare skin, though, so she couldn't really pull off mock irritation.

They pulled away a little so they could look at each other. "Whatever happens, happens, Bones. All that matters is that we're together and we love each other and the whole world will look at us and only wish they knew a love like ours. We have time for the rest later on, okay?"

She smiled. "Okay." Quickly , though, her smile dropped a little bit as she broached a subject that occurred to her as a possibility on the car ride to Booth's apartment. She decided to broach the topic carefully; she didn't want him to misunderstand her at all. "I think, for the time being, Booth, we should keep the new, romantic aspect of our partnership hidden from anyone else: except Angela."

It was his turn to frown a bit. "Why?"

"I already spoke with Angela about the night of Mr. Nigel-Murray's death about the… change in our partnership that we had agreed to."

"No, Bones, I mean, why keep us a secret?" He wanted to shout from the rooftops that he was the man Temperance Brennan loved: no, he did not like this idea at all. A secret affair? Was she ashamed to be dating a man much less brilliant than herself: an alpha-male, go-with-his-guts guy with a gun and a badge? Was she afraid of what people would think? Did she not think they would last? Insecurities bounced rapidly around his brain. "I want the whole world to know you're mine; that we belong to each other."

She gave him a thoughtful look. "I agree that - in time - I want that too, but in the short term I think it is wise to proceed with caution."

"Why?"

"We must be certain our working partnership would not be impacted by our new attachment to each other," she explained. "The FBI may not let us continue actively working in our cases if we are a couple: they may see our feelings for each other as a liability now and a factor that could hinder our judgment or the results we produce, although I believe it would be a misguided assessment. Sweets may even interfere with our newfound… relationship… knowing the details of our partnership and personal pasts, particularly the recent ending of your relationship to Hannah."

Booth rubbed a hand over his slightly stubbly jaw and chin thoughtfully, hating but understanding the logic of her argument. "I don't know, Bones…" he said hesitantly, even as the mention of Hannah's name sent a flood of guilt through him: he wasn't over the fantastic mess he had made there. He had a feeling it would be a long time before he ever made up with Bones enough for what he'd put them both through as far as his ex-girlfriend was concerned.

More than anything, though, he couldn't risk losing having Bones in his life every day, even professionally. He wanted to see her, be near her and hear her voice every chance he got.

"We should wait and gather evidence in our workplaces about how such a change might impact our careers," she continued when he didn't say anything. "When we feel confident in anticipating their reactions, we can inform them. But for now, a feigned off-handed comment to a coworker or a question or two for Sweets may go a long way for us, insuring that we may indeed continue to work as partners. I know that is what we would both want."

He smiled at that, pleased at the confidence she was showing in them and the fervor of her desire in keeping them working together. "I suppose we could try it for awhile," he agreed reluctantly. "Besides Angela, no one has to know _for now_." He emphasized. "We could act as if nothing has changed between us publicly."

"It won't be for long, Booth," she assured him, her hand lightly trailing his thigh absently and starting to purposefully distract him. He didn't mind a bit.

"Publically, the world will just see two partners, continuing to work together and solve crimes," he said, talking himself into it as he felt his body begin to respond to her touch all over again. "They'll see two professional people devouring clues in bones and in suspects, passionate about the pursuit of justice. But privately…" his voice trailed, heat filling his dark brown eyes.

A devious smile formed on her lips, knowing where they were headed. "Yes?"

Without warning he pounced on her, pinning her to the mattress with his weight as her spontaneous laugh bounced off the walls of the bedroom and her hands came up to grip his impressive biceps. He looked her straight in the eyes as she relished the weight of him on her. "Privately we'll be two committed people passionate in love and devouring only each other."

She gasped as his mouth fixed to the tender flesh on her neck, trailing his tongue down. When he placed a small bite on the skin above her collarbone, her nails dug into his arms and her body lifted from the bed even as her heart lifted higher at the realization that she finally – finally – had the love she had sought for so long. "Ohhhh, yes, Booth."

**Author's Note:**

**Yes, we'll have an epilogue (possibly the loooooooongest epilogue in the history of fanfiction, but you guys don't mind, right?).**


	20. Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

**This initial conversation should be familiar to all of you by now, I'm sure. As far as I know, there are no definitive spoilers, either. It's just for fun and for you!**

**Disclaimer: ****Nope, I didn't write the first part of this dialogue – the wonderful writers of Bones did and it belongs to them. I wrote everything else, hoping to fill in their perspective and how this B&B shipper hopes Booth and Brennan move forward. **

**Epilogue**

_**A few weeks later…**_

Brennan had been walking around in a confusing, emotional haze for the past day. They had just wrapped up another case successfully – catching a killer at a bowling alley – but instead of the usual satisfaction she found in the accomplishment she found she was experiencing acute apprehension mixed with anticipation.

Angela and Hodgins' son had been born just a couple of hours prior; little Michael Staccato Vincent Hodgins had entered the world and by doing so had altered his parent's lives forever and by extension the rest of their small scientific team. He was a beautiful baby and Angela looked so enormously happy: nonetheless as Brennan agreed to walk home with Booth that night she was preoccupied by her own personal crisis.

This relationship with Booth was so new – only a few weeks old – and they were still keeping it hidden from the rest of the team (besides Angela) and the FBI … but now… now everything was different. Her whole world was teetering on its axis. One thing was certain: holding onto a secret, especially from Booth, was eating away at her and she had no idea how she felt about. She was certain she knew how she _wanted_ to feel, but there were so many things to consider, especially now.

Temperance Brennan was having a baby. Booth's baby.

She'd taken the pregnancy test at home yesterday evening, after dinner with her father. Booth had been with Parker that night so she had invited her dad over to talk about what to expect the next day, looking for anthropological illumination on the world of competitive bowling. It was at dinnertime, however, that she began to mentally compile the list of ailments she was unfortunately experiencing: she had hardly been able to eat a bite of the food, her cycle was late and she had been feeling overwhelmingly exhausted for the past few days. Reasonably, she concluded that she should try a pregnancy test. The thought caused her to remain preoccupied throughout dinner so after saying goodbye to her father she had gone down to the nearest drugstore and made her first-ever purchase of a home pregnancy test, thinking it was an excellent way to quickly contradict her initial conclusion. Never in a million years had she actually _expected_ to see the double pink lines indicating a positive pregnancy.

She had cried: whether out of fear, exhaustion or happiness, she wasn't quite sure even now.

One thing was certain - it had to have happened the first night they were together. As she had sat on the floor of her bathroom the night before, holding the stick in one hand and a look of disbelief written all over her face, she had attempted to face all the factors that sprang up as a result of the test. She knew from his previous testing that Booth had a very high sperm count and, given their mutual lack of caution in terms of birth control that night, she had known this could be a small possibility. Why, then, had it come as such a shock? Why then did she still have such trouble imagining herself as a mother? She was a genius - procreating a child should clearly be something she could handle. The question she was truly afraid of now, though, was how this new variable would affect her relationship with Booth. Except for the four nights he'd had Parker, they had been together every night since that first night and she had finally felt confident in the new romantic dimensions of their relationship. This would alter them entirely.

Which was why she didn't call Booth that night to have him come over so she could tell him the news – why would she want to change anything when they had finally established a real relationship in every sense of the word? Why would she risk the potential end of their professional partnership? After all, the FBI may sever their partnership and Booth was bound to succumb to his alpha-male tendencies and be unnecessarily overprotective… they even had a case the next day. No, she wouldn't tell Booth: at least not right away – not until she could anticipate each and every of his potential responses. What if he didn't react positively? She would be crushed; in a purely emotional, non-literal sense, of course.

However, now, thinking back on the events of the past day Angela had looked happy, hadn't she? Those were tears of joy in Hodgins' eyes, weren't they? A baby would enhance their love for each other, wouldn't it?

"They looked so happy," she commented as she walked alongside Booth on the damp sidewalk, the city settling into the late-evening quiet and the streetlights reflecting off the wet pavement.

Booth's hands were in the pockets of his coat. Each of them had been walking in silence for awhile, seemingly lost in their own thoughts. "Well, yeah," he responded casually. "They had a baby."

It was a very straightforward answer from her straightforward partner: she envied the ease at which he associated having a child with pure happiness. Would he think the same if the child was his? "Their whole lives have changed," she commented, trying to offer another perspective. "You think they'd be a little more apprehensive." She wondered if she was trying to justify to herself why she felt so nervous: if only she knew what to expect from Booth! The panicked expression on his face when she had mentioned the subject of children after their first time together was still fresh in her memory. While he had explained it by telling her his reaction was about the lack of a condom and the fact that she was going from "zero to sixty" (his metaphors still constantly eluded her) perhaps he had been attempting to mask nervousness at the prospect of having another child? Or perhaps it was something he hadn't even wanted to consider for a long time: in any case, she felt as if she were lost and increasingly isolated from Booth by withholding this huge factor in their future.

"Well, you know - having a baby…that's a good thing."

Her eyes glanced over to meet his. She could always tell what he was feeling through those captivating dark eyes of his: hope began to build lightly within her when she saw the look on his face. "You really think that?"

"Yeah, it's a great thing," he responded casually, looking at her with almost disbelief that she could ever possibly think otherwise. "Why…what?"

They drew to a stop on the sidewalk. It still amazed her how he could tell she was preoccupied simply by her tone and demeanor; he had such a gift for reading people – especially her. Secretly she hoped it was a trait their child would have. Their child…

She looked at Booth questioningly. "Oh, come on, Bones," he continued before she spoke. "Look, the baby… the baby's fine. It's healthy," he said earnestly, attempting to reassure her and thinking that her worried and anxious expression was about Angela's baby. "They had a healthy baby, alright? They love each other. This is the happiest day of their lives, okay?"

This _was _the happiest day of their lives. Michael brought them joy. Their baby would bring them joy, too. A sudden calm came over her as her blue eyes stayed fixed on her partner, her lover, the father of her child. How amazing it will be, she realized, to watch their baby grow and develop: to begin recognizing patterns and spatial awareness. To watch him or her learn and experience and discover the wonders of science and life for itself. To see Booth and herself in another person.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm…" she couldn't help a small, short laugh that escaped as she took a chance and finally vocalized the words that were going to change their lives forever: "I'm pregnant." Almost as an afterthought – one she had hoped was blatantly apparent but wanted to assure him of anyway – she added, "You're the father."

It felt as if her heart inexplicably stopped beating as she saw her words sink in. She watched his eyes reflecting disbelief as she held her breath, more nervous that she had ever been in her entire life. Would he be happy? Could this bring them even closer? Was this something he really wanted?

And then he smiled. One of the brightest, most joyful smiles he could have given her. His eyes lit up as he looked at her and she felt her heart melt even as a tidal wave of relief and happiness flooded her.

Before she knew it her own smile filled her face. He wanted this with her. A baby with her was one of the most wonderful things he'd ever heard: she knew it – as sure as she knew Seeley Booth was in love with her, she knew that a baby together was a dream come true.

This was what pure happiness felt like, she realized, as Booth took a step forward and enveloped her in his strong embrace, almost knocking her off balance. "A baby, Bones? Really?" he exclaimed softly into her hair, his voice filled with elation and bewilderment. She wrapped her arms around his back and kept him to her for a moment, reveling in the feeling of his solid, muscular body against hers. She always felt so safe in his arms: so cherished – tonight even more than before.

He pulled back quickly, then brought his hands up to her hair as he captured her mouth in a kiss. Instinctively, she raised herself just a bit on her toes to meet him while her lips parted and welcomed him. It felt so right, being here with him in this moment. It was as if – in an entirely non-scientific or literal sense – her heart was prepared to burst with love and contentment.

Booth pulled away, needing to look at her again, watching her face as if he would find the answers to every inexplicable question in the universe there. "We're going to have a baby?"

"Yes," she confirmed delightfully, unable to stop herself from smiling. Knowing he was as thrilled about this as she had wanted to be had expelled the largest fear she had entertained since last night.

"Oh my God, Bones," he breathed, holding her hands tightly in his. "I can't believe it. How long – I mean, when did you find out? Did you know the whole time we were with the Thunderballs at the Bowling alley? When is the baby due? We can't be far along at all. Why didn't you tell me right away?"

"I took a home pregnancy test last night," she replied in a calmer voice than his. "I have to see my doctor for a confirmation, but I suspected we might be pregnant when I was overly tired, unable to eat properly and a little late in my cycle." Ever the scientist, she wanted to make sure he had all of the facts laid out in front of him. "I didn't intend to keep it from you, Booth, but I did not want to distract you from our case today. It would have been an awkward time to tell you anyway since you had Parker and my father was having dinner with me." She stopped talking for a moment, reticent to vocalize the fact that she had feared what his reaction would be. At this point, it would probably only make him upset. Besides, it had only been a day without telling him...

He was looking at her carefully, much like he did when he was interrogating a suspect and attempting to ascertain his "gut reaction" to whether or not he believed the person to be innocent or guilty. She almost wanted to squirm under his intent gaze. "What is it, Bones? What aren't you telling me?"

She avoided direct eye contact. "Nothing."

Large hands came up to take her gently by the elbows, as if to hold her in place, his brown eyes searching her. "Are you alright? Is the baby okay?"

"We're both fine, Booth," she muttered, irritated for a split second that he could tell she was hesitant about something. "At least I am assuming so. We will know more after I receive verification of the pregnancy from a medical professional, however."

His expression told her he hadn't thought his question had merit in the first place: he knew she was holding something back that had nothing to do with their health. He remained solemn, studying her. "You were afraid how I would react, weren't you? You were afraid I wouldn't want a child yet?"

Damn. She couldn't stop her eyes from filling with tears as she nodded her head slowly and tried to blink them away. She silently blamed the tears on the burgeoning pregnancy hormones. The corner of his mouth lifted a bit and before she knew it, she was wrapped in his embrace again – this time for a quick hug. Before she could decide whether or not to hug him back he pulled away, his hands now on her shoulders as he leaned down slightly to look her directly in the eye, until they were almost nose to nose. "Bones, this is the best news I've ever heard in my entire life. It's the greatest gift I could ever hope for, next only to Parker and your love for me." His handsome face was so earnest… so honest. He was telling her the unequivocal truth and once again, a huge sense of relief settled within her. How could she have ever thought he would be anything other than happy at the news of her pregnancy?

Nonetheless, she couldn't help the practicality weighing on her shoulders. She was glad he thought it was good news, but had he really thought it all of the way through?

"What on earth are we going to do with a baby, Booth?" she asked, vocalizing her remaining fears. "Think about it: both of us put ourselves in danger on the job, which is not necessarily responsible parenting. I would like to raise our child to be an inquisitive scientist, looking at the world rationally and objectively and I'm sure you will want to pass down your antiquated and superstitious religious beliefs to him. I want to breastfeed and perhaps raise him with the same eating habits I have – I'm sure you're going to want to inflict meat and pies on the poor child." She bit her lower lip and looked away from him, down the empty street into nothing. "Besides, at this time we haven't even considered altering living arrangements. I quite like living on my own and I am not certain that could ever change. I know you want to probably get married one day, but I don't know… I don't know if I can…" she paused, not knowing how to continue. Was marriage something she should consider? She had known for the past few weeks now (and perhaps even longer) that Booth was the only one she ever wanted to be with, but was that enough to sacrifice her independence for the rest of her life? Would it even be a sacrifice at all, or would it be everything she could ever hope for? "Would we… share custody of him?" she asked weakly, hating the idea the moment she vocalized it. "I don't want this to impact our work; our… partnership."

Leave it to Bones to immediately outline the problems they now faced, he thought wearily, although he understood her reasons for doing so. One of the things he loved about her was her attention to all of the factors of a situation: usually it helped them solve crimes. Now it put terrifying images of joint custody in his imagination. He was doing that with Parker and he hated every time he had to leave his son at Rebecca's door: he didn't know if he could go through that pain again. He sure as hell didn't want to go through that when he was head over heels in love with Bones. "Her." He replied absently, lost in thought.

"Excuse me?"

His brown eyes flickered back down to hers, grounding him back in the moment. "Her. We're having a girl."

Brennan's brow furrowed and she looked at him in bewilderment. "There is no way you can possible know that for certain. I'm far too early in the pregnancy to determine gender and I only revealed the pregnancy to you moments ago. There's simply no way to know it's a girl yet."

He shrugged, but couldn't help the smile that found its way to his face, despite the enormous amounts of differences the love of his life had pointedly stacked against them in terms of their parenting styles. "I can feel it, Bones. I just know it's a girl." He brought his hand over and brushed her hair gently away from her face as images of a little auburn-haired girl ran through his mind, with huge blue eyes that radiated confidence and a determined little bounce to her step. A girl just like his Bones... really, their child was all that would matter in the end.

The frown was still firmly in place on her pretty and perplexed face. "Your gut is not an accurate indicator of the gender of our child. Perhaps because you have a boy already, you incorrectly assume this one will be a girl."

"We – you, me and Rebecca have Parker, yes," he corrected, wanting Brennan to be included in their family unit: as long as they were together the two of them came as a package deal. God knew Parker adored Brennan and he knew she was quite fond of him, too. "But I just know this one will be a girl, Bones. It's not logical, but it's true."

Slowly he watched the frown disappear and he knew she was imagining parenting a daughter. She still looked entirely distraught though. "Male or female, Booth: the facts don't change," she said, her voiced filled with pain. "We're too different to raise a child successfully."

He took her hands in his, keeping the image of their unborn child front and center in his thoughts. "I don't think that's true, Bones," he said quietly, his warm hands enveloping her cool, clammy ones. "We love each other. We want to spend the rest of our lives together – in the end, that's what matters the most." As he spoke he realized he believed it every word he was saying: he needed her to believe it too. "Our baby will know that her parents love each other and want to be together and that we love her too. Will it impact our jobs, our lives and our… partnership?" He knew it was the wrong word to use there, but he was still searching for the words that perfectly defined what they were to each other. "Hell, yes it will. But it's worth it, Bones. A baby is _so_ worth it. The rest of it we will work out, one day at a time." It would be a shitload to work out, he knew, since what Bones had said was absolutely true. Nonetheless, their differences made them stronger together – every killer that sat behind bars that they put them there could attest to that fact. Besides, these past six years they'd had ample opportunities to go their separate ways, yet here they were. How many times had they almost lost each other? Still, their love for each other had always brought them back together; they could work through anything.

And somewhere deep inside, he knew he still wanted Bones to marry him: if she ever did, though, he wanted it to be because it was what _she _wanted, not because of him or even the baby. Maybe he was a glutton for punishment, but he didn't want to give up that hope.

"How can you be so certain? We consistently argue with each other or disagree on issues of significance." she asked in a small voice, her eyes searching his. "What if we can't make this work?" The confidence Booth was demonstrating amazed her; she was quite certain that he would continue to surprise her with such confidence and such – such _faith_ – in them the rest of their lives.

His eyes narrowed a bit as he wished she could share in a smidgen of his optimism. "We'll make it work together."

"There is a distinct possibility our differences will ultimately drive us apart," she countered logically, although her frown showed her dismay at the contemplation of the possible demise of their relationship. "Look at the facts, Booth. We must be realistic; as much as we care about each other we may end up hurting each other and our child if these important issues cannot be resolved."

Booth looked at her in amazement. How could he be certain? Where had she been these past few weeks? These past few years, really? What was more realistic than his love for her? It was as if she were ready to pound the first nail into the coffin of their relationship. Only Temperance Brennan could infuriate him even as she delighted him simply by being herself. Letting go of her hands, he took a step forward as lightning flashed in his dark brown eyes, burning her from within at their intensity. "We can be happy together, Bones. We can be a family."

"You can't guarantee it. We cannot possibly be ready for all of the ways our lives will change."

His eyes turned as dark as midnight with a dangerous, passionate look she had seen before and instantly she felt a spark of her own frustration flash. The way he was looking at her made her feel as if they were standing in one of their apartments or lying in bed instead of out in the middle of a public street: it was a look that left her feeling entirely naked and exposed under his gaze. It sent a shiver coursing through her as she irrationally wished they were anywhere but outside and fully dressed. Her mind raced - why would such a simple observation cause him to be upset? None of this was going to be easy but they _had _to face the facts. However, right now, the fact that was flying through Temperance Brennan's thoughts was how much she wanted to pounce on Seeley Booth and have her way with him – four nights without him had been agonizing. He was driving her crazy.

She ran her tongue absently across her lips as her own ire flared. If only he would be _rational_ once in awhile…

Staring back at her, Booth knew the thoughts that were crossing her mind now, too – he could feel the arousal building between them like a gathering storm. They had been here before, with sexual tension crackling like electricity in the air, but now he knew how right it was to be inside of her: how complete they were when they were one. He felt himself growing harder by the moment, but they weren't going anywhere until he could make her imagine a life with him. Nonetheless, that didn't stop his jaw from clenching with desire or his heart rate skyrocketing. Brennan was looking back at him as if she wanted to _devour_ him and was just a hair shy of hurting him, which turned him on even more. God he wanted to get the two of them out of there right now and show her just how much _certainty _he had in the two of them. He'd _resolve _the fuck out of both of them. "You told me," he ground out, trying to ignore his growing erection and the raging desire to throw her over his shoulder and carry her back to his apartment like a goddamn caveman, "You told me you were ready for me. For us. Well, baby, this kid is from us." He saw her delectable pink lips part slightly in surprise as he moved right up into her, holding her against him. "So ready or not, here we go. I love you, Temperance Brennan and being with you and having a child with you is everything I could have hoped for. Since the beginning of you and me that's all I've wanted and I'll spend every day proving it to you. That's how I'm certain."

If there was anything she knew about Booth, his commitment was absolute: not one part of her doubted that he would love her and their child unconditionally day after day. Everything felt right in his arms – here, with him, was where she always wanted to be. She _was_ ready. A knowing, heated smile slowly bloomed on her face as she brought her hands up to his chiseled cheeks and pressed her forehead against his. She felt herself gently give into his hope. "I love you too, Booth," she breathed, finding it easier to vocalize the sentiment than she had ever thought possible. "You and the baby are everything I could have hoped for, too."

That was all he needed to hear. Swiftly he drew her up into a passionate kiss and her mouth opened eagerly as his tongue ran across her lips, demanding entrance. All air left her lungs as his strong arms came around her, molding her to himself as their tongues dueled and danced within each other. She clung to him desperately, not wanting him to ever let her go. The thrusting of his tongue in her mouth caused him to swallow her helpless groan as she moved her hands up and down his chest, desperate to touch his hard skin hidden beneath his shirt. Needing to breathe, he pulled away from her mouth and she gasped as he planted small kisses along the side of the face while he cradled her head in his hands. "You've made me the happiest man alive," he whispered, while a single tear escaped the corner of her blue eyes.

More than anything she wanted to be with him in his apartment _right now_. Her hands came down to his ass, pulling him even tighter against her. The evidence of exactly how happy he was pressed up against her stomach and she stifled another groan. Being with him was where she always wanted to be. "This is the best night of my life, Booth," she said softly, turning her head to the side to give him better access to her neck, where his mouth was trailing.

Without warning he lifted her off the ground in one fluid swoop, holding her up in his tight embrace as if she weighed hardly anything at all. Her legs dangled as she brought her arms up around his neck, not caring in the slightest at the alpha-male possessiveness he was displaying; it turned her on desperately. He turned them and headed for the doorstep of his building as he chuckled. "Mine, too, Bones, and something tells me it's about to get even better." She brought her head to his shoulder and then he couldn't help the gasp that escaped as her teeth scraped over his neck and bit gently. Jesus, she had to stop that or else he was going to drop her here on the stairs of the building. He had to get her upstairs, _pronto_.

"Yeah, definitely – the best is yet to come, Bones."

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

**I kind of hope they have a girl now… it would be great for consistency with my story. **

**I have loved, loved, loved every review, so a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have shared your insightful, hilarious and enthusiastic comments. They mean the world. Pretty please with cherries on top review one last time and let me know what you thought!**

**Finally, another huge thanks to everyone for simply reading, reviewing, making it a "favorite" and alerting! I can only hope you had as much fun reading this as I had writing it. Here's also hoping for many happy, sweet and sexy Booth and Brennan moments in season 7! Take care! **

**XOXO Regina**


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